Living Among Gods
by XFullHumanX
Summary: What would have happened if Yui was allowed to live among the gods after Zeus's garden was destroyed? Follow Yui as she struggles with feelings she doesn't understand and learns that living with gods can be both scary and wonderful. You can't live your life walking on soft rose petals without stepping on a few thorns as well.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: How's it going everyone? I'm back with another Loki/Yui fanfic and it feels great to write again! I've had a hard time coming up with an idea for another story but I think I finally got one. I'm so in love with the Yui/Loki pairing I just feel the need to write it all out, I hope you will enjoy this story and thank you all once again for all the wonderful reviews I received from "Summer vacation with the gods" and "Back to the academy"!**

 **Welcome to "Living Among Gods"**

 **Flashback:**

"We'll combine our remaining strength to return Fairy to her own world." Apollon said. All the eight gods stood around Yui in a circle as a thunder-like sound, coming from the almost destroyed garden, echoed in the background.

Yui's eyes widened in confusion. "Wait a minute! What are you-"

"Kusanagi…" Yui turned at the sound of Hades voice and looked him in the eye, he was smiling at her. "I shall always pray for your happiness."

Yui didn't have time to reply before Dionysus spoke. "May Kusanagi-san always have a smile on her face."

"No… I'll stay with you!" Yui cried out, she was almost at the verge of tears.

"Kusanagi Yui…" Tsukito said from behind her. "I will never forget the things you taught me."

Takeru pointed at her with a small smirk. "Kusanagi, there's no one like you."

Yui didn't want to hear it anyone. "We said we'd graduate together! Why! ? There are still so many things I want to do together!" She cried and dropped down to her knees. "This isn't fair!"

"Fairy…"

"No!" Yui shouted from the ground, tears were running down her already wet cheeks. "I don't want to be separated from you all! Take me with you!"

Balder looked down at the desperate girl on the ground with sadness in his eyes "Yui-san, you can't come with us."

"If you do, there's no turning back…" Loki finished for him.

"I know…" Her eyes were closed, not wanting to face everyone. She felt so powerless. She knew her friends were doing this to save her but if she had to choose between them and her life on earth, she would choose them... even if it meant she wouldn't be able to see her family again. As one last tear left her eye, she whispered, "I want to be with you…" In that moment, a glowing white light appeared from her heart and the voice of Zeus echoed in the background. "Very well."

Everyone gasped as the light started to consume their human friend and everything around her, including them. Soon, everything was covered in the white light, leaving nothing behind.

 **End of flashback:**

That was two months ago. Being with her friends was what her heart desired so Zeus had decided to grant her wish. The gods were both surprised and happy about her decision and welcomed her into their world with open arms. Yui, for some reason she didn't know herself, decided to stay with the Norse gods in Asgard. She was given a cottage to live in not far away from where Loki, Balder and Thor lived, new clothes so she would fit in, immortality and a very own portal that would lead her to her own world in case she wanted to visit. The portal was placed behind a closed door in her bedroom. But of course, staying with the gods came with a price. She had been erased, meaning that no one back on earth remembered her, including her family, but it was okay… She had made the decision to stay and even if she felt a bit sad she knew she had made the right choice. She was where she wanted to be. She was home.

Yui was enjoying a nice book in her soft and furry couch as the fireplace helped warm up the cottage in the cold winter morning. It was snowing outside so she decided to wait a little until she would go to the well a little further down the snow covered street to get water for her laundry. The life of the gods was a little different from what she was used to but she learned quickly and actually enjoyed it. Of course she had to work a little harder than the gods because she was human and didn't have their strength or stamina but she wasn't the one to complain, especially since the gods provided her with food every day.

She smiled to herself as she turned the page of the book she was reading when suddenly someone knocked on the door. She put the book down on the small table in front of the couch and stood up to answer the door, silently praising herself for putting on her beautiful white dress as soon as she got up this morning. Normally she would just wear a robe during the early morning hours.

When she opened the door she saw Balder standing there with a smile and a bucket of water in his hands. "Good morning, Yui-san."

"Balder-san, good morning!" Yui greeted, surprised to see him here so early.

"I just came to deliver some water for you." Balder smiled sweetly and handed her the bucket.

"Oh, you didn't have to do that!" Yui exclaimed but accepted it anyway.

"Don't worry about it, we promised we would take care of you, didn't we?"

"Ah, but I don't want to be a burden to you all. You're already doing enough for me."

" _Kitteeeeen_!" Loki called as he flew through the sky and into the cottage and landed on Balder, making him fall to the floor. "I brought some fresh meat and water for you!" He smiled widely with his eyes closed, holding up a basket and a bucket proudly.

Yui looked at him in surprise. "Loki-san, you too?"

"Hm?" Was Loki's only reply before he looked down and noticed Balder on the floor, who he was standing on too… He quickly got off of him. "Balder, you came too?"

Balder mumbled something as he stood up from the floor. "I just thought Yui-san needed some water so I came to give it to her."

"What a coincidence, huh?" Loki smirked and patted his best friend on the shoulder.

"You're both so sweet." Yui giggled and put the bucket she received from Balder down on the floor.

"Good morning, Kusanagi." Thor greeted from the doorway, holding a bucket in his hands. "Since it's snowing I came to deliver some water for you."

"You too? !" Loki and Balder exclaimed in unison.

"Ah, thank you, Thor-san." Yui smiled awkwardly. It was nice that everyone was thinking of her but a little snow had never stopped her before.

"Yuuuuiii~" A female voice called and the goddess named Sif soon appeared beside Thor in the doorway. "Let's have breakfast together!" She suggested cheerfully, holding a basket filled with bread in her hand. Sif was the first goddess Yui had befriended since she moved to Asgard two months ago. She was the goddess of harvest, had long golden hair and wore a green dress. It also seemed like she was interested in Thor. "Oh! Thor, you're here too?" She added when she noticed the silent god beside her.

"Hello Sif." Thor greeted, not changing his facial expression.

Yui didn't have time to leave a reply before the two siblings Freyja and Freyr appeared, they too had a bucket with them. Freyr was the god of fertility, wore a white loincloth, had sparky, long blonde hair and golden eyes. His sister was the goddess of love, had silvery eyes, blonde hair and wore a white dress. "Good morning, sweetheart!" Freyja exclaimed happily, totally ignoring the other gods. "We have brought water for you~"

Yui didn't know what to say, her home was surrounded by gods who all had come to give her food and water because it was snowing outside. She didn't have to say anything though, because Loki was just about to speak his mind. "She doesn't need your water, we've already given her what she needs."

"Well that's too bad." Freyr smirked and stepped inside the cottage and stopped in front of Yui, not minding the death glares he received from Loki and Balder. "And here I thought I would be your only saviour." He added with a flirtatious smile.

"Hey! We came here together, you idiot!" His sister shouted.

"And don't stand so close to her, Freyr!" Balder added.

The gods then started arguing, totally forgetting they were standing in Yui's home. And it was getting cold too and a few snowflakes soon found their way in through the open door. Yui threw a look at the fireplace, it was still burning but if this continued the snow would extinguish the fire. She turned her head back to the others. "Umm…" She began. No one heard her. "Everyone!" She said a little louder.

That caught their attention. They stopped arguing and turned to look at her. "Would you all like to come in and have breakfast?" She asked with a sweet smile planted on her face.

The gods' faces brightened at the suggestion and they forgot what they were arguing about. "We'd love to!" They exclaimed and hurried inside and shut the door behind them. ' _Good, that will keep the snow out._ ' Yui thought in satisfaction. "You're so kind, Yui-san!" Balder smiled as he was walking towards the couch with the others to sit down. "My Kitten is so thoughtful." Loki grinned. " _ **Your**_ Kitten?" Freyr asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I will help you prepare breakfast, Yui!" Sif grinned as she pushed Yui towards the kitchen, bringing the basket of bread with her.

"Oh, but you're my guest-"

"I insist!"

* * *

"Thank you so much for the breakfast, sweetie!" Freyja thanked as she and the others stepped out of Yui's cottage.

"Yeah, thanks." "Thank you, Yui-san." "Thanks." Freyr, Balder and Thor said.

"I want us to have breakfast together like this every day!" Sif laughed.

"I should be the one thanking _you_ , you've been taking care of me since the day I came here." Yui told them from the doorway.

"Of course we take care of you, Yui-san, we're doing it because we-" Balder started.

"We love you!" Both Sif and Freyja exclaimed with a huge smile on their faces, earning strange looks from the males. "You women are crazy. I'm glad we've got a **sane** human woman among us now…" Freyr sighed.

Yui laughed awkwardly at her friends for being so forward.

"Anyway, see you later, Yui. If you're not planning to visit earth again?" Sif asked.

"I think I might pay earth a visit later today but I'll see you all later." Yui answered and waved at them as they left and disappeared from her sight. She closed the door and thought that she could read some more before preparing herself to visit her old home. But as she was returning to her spot on the couch she noticed that someone was already sitting on it and stopped dead in her tracks with a surprised look on her face. "Loki-san?"

"So they finally left, huh?" Loki smirked at her from the couch.

"Yui threw a quick look at the door before looking back at the god of fire on her couch. "Didn't you leave with them?" She asked, confused.

"Why would I leave when I can stay here and get spoiled by you?" Loki answered and laid down on the couch, closed his eyes and smiled in satisfaction.

"Um- I- I really don't mind you staying but-"

"You wanted to read and then leave for the human world." Loki finished for her.

"Y-Yeah…"

"Alright then." Loki said and stood up and walked over to her, "Let's have dinner together when you get back."

"Huh? Dinner?" Yui asked, surprised. She didn't expect him to say that.

"Yeah, just you and me, Kitten." He grinned down at her, flirtatiously.

Yui felt her cheeks heating up for some reason. "W-Well, alright… What time?"

"Just come to my place when you're back." Loki answered and patted her head as he walked past her and headed for the door.

After Loki left Yui had a hard time concentrating on her book. For some reason, she felt too excited to think about anything other than Loki's invitation to eat dinner at his place. Sure, she have had dinner many times together with Loki, Thor and Balder but never _**alone**_ with him. It had caught her by surprise that he actually wanted to eat with her without the others. She put down her book and walked into the bedroom to look for the sun shaped silver necklace Zeus had given her. She found it on the bedside table.

' _I should change clothes, too._ ' She thought as she put the necklace around her neck. The portal behind the door could take her wherever she wanted to go in the human world but once she had used it, she wouldn't be able to find another portal on earth to bring her back. That's why Zeus had given her that necklace, so she could teleport herself back.

Yui checked her wardrobe for some fitting human clothes a seamstress had made for her, so she could fit in while walking around on earth. She couldn't exactly walk around in the flashy clothes she wore in Asgard, she would stand out too much.

Once she was dressed in blue jeans and a light pink off-the-shoulder top, she was ready to leave. She opened the door next to her bed. ' _I think it would be nice to visit my hometown this time._ ' She thought before she walked through the door and disappeared. Just a second later she found herself standing in the woods, not too far away from the road that would lead her to town. That's how the portal worked, it was made to always "drop her off" in places no one could see her. Other humans would definitely die from a heart attack if they saw someone appear out of thin air like that.

* * *

On Mount Olympus, the home of the Greek gods, Zeus was having tea with his brother. "Are you going to punish them?" Hades asked.

"Even if I do, it still wouldn't help…" Zeus answered with a sigh.

"Well, you're right about that. Those two will never change."

"But still, turning your room into a jungle of grapes and lit fireworks in the dining hall…? One could have thought they were smart enough to know they weren't such good ideas."

"Your sons are really… something else." Hades sweat dropped.

* * *

"Hey, Dee-Dee!" Apollon laughed as he ran down the hall after his brother.

"That's dangerous, Apollon." Dionysus commented.

"Huh? But people run all the time."

"Not the way you do…"

A second later, Apollon slipped on the newly cleaned, wet floor and slid down the hall at a high speed past Dionysus. "Waaaaahhhhh!"

"Told you so…"

There was no stopping him as Apollon continued to slid further and further away from his brother and if a servant hadn't opened the door to the room where the hall ended, he would have collided with it. Instead, he slid past the surprised servant and into the room where his father and uncle were drinking tea and came to a stop just inches away from where the two older gods were seated.

Zeus and Hades looked down at Apollon on the floor, neither of them seemed surprised. "What a fine entrance…" Zeus commented.

Apollon quickly stood up from the floor. "S-Sorry! The floor was so slippery I wasn't able to stop!"

"We figured that out, Apollon." Hades said before taking a sip of the tea.

A moment later, Dionysus entered the room. "I see you made it all the way over here." He pointed out with a grin.

"Dee-Dee! Why didn't you stop me?" Apollon cried out.

"What was I supposed to do? You just slid down the hall at lightning speed."

"Anyway, Zeus." Hades began. "Any reports from Odin about how Kusanagi is doing?" Odin was the All-Father of all the Nordic gods and the ruler of Asgard. He's the one who keeps Zeus updated about Yui.

Zeus put his cup down on the table. "She's fine. She's made new friends and fits in quite well."

* * *

Yui was walking down the road, she knew exactly where it would take her, she had taken this path many times during her life on earth. But of course, she had spent almost a year at the academy Zeus created and then she moved in with the gods and had been living with them for 2 months. So it kind of felt like she hadn't been here for a very long time. She had visited earth around 7 times but this was the first time she had decided to visit her hometown. She was afraid she would get homesick, sad, or regret her decision if she came back here. Especially now since she had been erased…

This road would take her to her old home.

"It will be fine." Yui told herself quietly and took a deep breath.

The sound of big flapping wings distracted her from her thoughts. She looked up to the side towards the trees to see if she could spot her visitors. Of course they were here, Odin's two ravens, Hugin and Munin. They always followed her around when she traveled beyond Asgard. It wasn't as if they wanted to stay hidden and watch over her from a distance, they were just polite enough to wait for permission to join her, if she wanted any company.

Hugin and Munin **looked** like normal ravens, only that they were **twice** as big as the average raven. Their actual job was to inform Odin about what they had seen during their flights. But recently, their top priority had been her. And Yui didn't complain! She enjoyed their company a lot and sometimes they would actually talk with her. Usually they didn't talk at all but when they did, they could have very interesting conversations together. Yui remembered the first time she had heard the two birds talk, she was so startled she had jumped and tripped on her feet. She was lucky Loki had been there to catch her so she wouldn't fall to the floor.

Yui continued to walk as she looked to the sky, no sign of them yet. Another minute passed before she saw something black in the corner of the eye. They were definitely here and had made their presence known, so instead of looking up, she focused on something straight ahead of her and called, "Do you want to join me or would you rather fly over my head?"

Less than 5 seconds passed when she suddenly felt the two big birds land on her bare shoulders. She raised her hands and patted them on their heads. "Nice to see you, boys." She greeted before she continued to walk as natural as she could with two ravens on her shoulders. "We're going to pass my old home soon, I just hope I won't get too emotional."

Hugin made a " _Kraa_ " sound and pecked lightly on Yui's head in a comforting way.

* * *

"Hey uncle! Are you leaving already?" Apollon called as he and Dionysus followed Hades down the hall.

"I have to return. Take care and try to behave." Hades answered without turning around.

"But things are so boring here, Hades-san. Can't you stay and entertain us?" Dionysus asked.

Hades stopped walking. "And just **how** am I going to entertain you?"

"By blowing something up!" Apollon laughed as he threw his arms in the air.

Hades and Dionysus gave the god of the sun a strange look before looking at each other. "Come on Hades-san, can't we just go somewhere together? We haven't been able to do anything fun for over a month."

"Hnn…" Hades began.

"Oh! I know! Let's go to the Norse gods and hang out with Fairy!" Apollon exclaimed.

"That's a good idea, we haven't seen her for several weeks now." Dionysus agreed.

Hades closed his eyes as if to think about something. "Well… If it's Kusanagi… I suppose I could stay above the underworld a little longer."

" _There you are! We've been looking for you._ " A voice from further down the hall called and the three Greek gods turned around to see the two Totsuka brothers coming their way.

"Ah! Tsuki-Tsuki! Take-Take!" Apollon exclaimed and waved at them.

"Damn this place is huge… It took us forever to find you." Takeru complained.

"We could have just asked where they were, Totsuka Takeru." Tsukito said with his usual poker face on.

"We don't need to ask for directions, we found them in the end didn't we?"

Hades cleared his throat to get their attention. "It's good to see you two but what brings you here?"

"Oh, right." Takeru started.

"Totsuka Takeru wanted to see Kusanagi Yui." Tsukito finished for him.

"B-Brother!"

"We thought it would be a good idea to invite you to come with us." Tsukito added, ignoring his brother.

"You came at a great time, we just thought about going to see her, too." Dionysus said.

"Awesome! Now we can all go!" Apollon said happily.

" _If you're going to see the human you should go to the human world._ " Zeus informed as he walked towards them.

"The human world?" Takeru asked.

"I just found out from Odin that his two ravens followed Kusanagi Yui to her old home in Japan."

"Her old home? What is she going to do over there?" Hades asked.

"It's just a visit, as usual." Zeus answered.

"But this must be the first time Fairy has gone to visit her former home since she started living with us, what if she's homesick and wants to go back?" Apollon asked, almost in panic.

Zeus closed his eyes. "Like I said, it's just a visit and-" When he opened his eyes again, the 5 gods were already gone. Zeus just sighed, "Oh well… Maybe now I can get some peace and quiet."

 **A/N: That's it for now! I hope you enjoyed it so far and you can expect the second chapter later this week :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Previously:**

"Her old home? What is she going to do over there?" Hades asked.

"It's just a visit, as usual." Zeus answered.

"But this must be the first time Fairy has gone to visit her former home since she started living with us, what if she's homesick and wants to go back?" Apollon asked, almost in panic.

Zeus closed his eyes. "Like I said, it's just a visit and-" When he opened his eyes again, the 5 gods were already gone. Zeus just sighed, "Oh well… Maybe now I can get some peace and quiet."

 **Now:**

"Well, here it is." Yui said as she looked up at the stairs which led to the shrine she used to lived in together with her parents and two older brothers. The two ravens on her shoulders croaked before they flew to a nearby tree and landed on the lowest branch. "It does feel a little strange to stand here, knowing that I have a home and a family here but that no one knows who I am anymore."

It was quiet for a moment before Yui turned around and started walking back the way she came from. Hugin and Munin looked at each other before they flew after her and landed on her shoulders once again. " _Yui is sad._ " Munin croaked.

"It's alright…" Yui replied, trying to sound cheerful.

" _Yui is lying. Yui is sad._ " Hugin croaked.

Yui let out a small sigh. "Perhaps I'm a little sad. But who wouldn't be? I gave up everything… my family, my friends, my life on earth, of course I feel down about it."

The two ravens didn't utter a word.

Yui's lips formed a smile. "But I still don't regret anything." She said with confidence. "Sometimes you have to make tough decisions and you're going to feel bad about it for awhile, but in time, you will realise you made the right choice. And when you do that, that's when you start living again."

Hugin and Munin looked at her as if they listened closely.

"I will always miss them but I'm glad I can at least watch over them, even if it's from a distance."

Once the small group was out of sight from the humans' wandering eyes Yui took a few steps away from the road. "Let's leave this place for now, there's one place I want to visit before going back." She knew that the necklace was only able to take her home, so she had to step through the portal in her bedroom again if she wanted to go to another place. She then grabbed the necklace and disappeared from the spot she stood on the moment she did. But she didn't know that 5 gods just appeared somewhere in the same area not far from where she just disappeared from, missing her by just a few seconds. The gods were in their human forms and they were looking quite worried. "Fairy!" Apollon called the moment they appeared on the ground.

"Quiet, Apollon!" Takeru hissed. "If the humans hear you they're going to think you're crazy. Most humans don't exactly believe in fairies, you know!"

"But I like calling her "Fairy"." Apollon pouted.

"Just don't shout her nickname like that." Hades told his nephew.

"Shouldn't we start looking for her now?" Dionysus asked.

"Right! Let's go to Fairy's home!" Apollon exclaimed and started running.

"Hey! What did I just say!" Takeru shouted after him.

"Apollon Agana Belea must be really worried about Kusanagi Yui." Tsukito stated.

"Let's follow him, who knows what sort of troubles he could get himself into if he's left alone for too long…" Dionysus sighed.

* * *

"Aahh… This feels great." Yui sighed in satisfaction. She had just used the portal to teleport herself and the two ravens to a hot spring and was currently relaxing in the water. Hugin and Munin were sitting in a tree just beside the spring, keeping watch. "Oh, I forgot to bring a towel." Yui realised. "Could one of you please bring me one?"

Hugin immediately flew out of the tree and disappeared, leaving Munin alone on the branch to watch over Yui.

"Want to talk a little until he's back?" Yui asked after a moment of silence. She knew the ravens only talked when they felt like it but it was worth a shot.

Munin flew down from the branch and landed on the rock Yui was resting her arm on. He didn't say anything but he was looking at her with interest. Yui smiled at him and thought that even if Munin didn't want to talk, it was still nice to have him there to listen to whatever she wanted to say. "Can I ask you something?" She began.

Munin croaked in reply.

"I'm not a burden for you and Hugin, am I? I mean, you two always keep an eye on me and I don't want to get in the way of your other duties."

Munin jumped up on her shoulder and rubbed his head against her hair tenderly. "I take that as a "No"." Yui giggled.

Moments later, Hugin returned with a towel and dropped it on the ground beside the spring before taking his place on Yui's other shoulder. He too seemed like he wanted to cuddle a little. "That was fast, thank you Hugin." Yui smiled and patted his head gently.

* * *

"It appears she isn't here anymore." Hades said. He and the younger gods were standing at the bottom of the stairs to Yui's former home but there was no sign of their human friend anywhere.

"Then, where could she be?" Dionysus asked.

"Beats me… Weed could be anywhere." Takeru commented.

"Totsuka Takeru, perhaps Kusanagi Yui left because you keep calling her that." Tsukito pointed out.

Takeru looked at his brother questioningly. "Huh?"

Apollon's face brightened "Ah! So it's Take-Take's fault!" He proclaimed proudly. "In that case, this problem is going to be easy to fix. Take-Take, apologize!"

Hades and Dionysus sweat dropped.

"What? !" Takeru shouted at Apollon in confusion.

"It can't be helped." Tsukito said, agreeing with Apollon.

"If Fairy is gone because of Take-Take, then all he needs to do is apologize to her." Apollon stated cheerfully.

"Are you saying Weed wants to leave because of me, you idiot? !" Takeru shouted.

"There he goes again. Using that nickname." Tsukito commented.

"Indeed." Apollon agreed.

"Shut up!" Takeru's eyes were burning now.

"That's enough you three..." Hades ordered calmly.

"Kusanagi-san obviously just came here for a quick visit and has probably returned home to Asgard already." Dionysus added.

"Well in that case, let's surprise her!" Apollon cried out happily and took off into the direction they came from.

"Hey! You owe me an apology, you bastard!" Takeru shouted after him.

Back in Asgard, Balder and Thor were having tea together in Balder's cottage. "It finally stopped snowing." Balder pointed out in relief. "Now Yui-san won't have any problem moving around."

"Yeah." Thor agreed and took a sip of the warm tea.

"By the way, Thor, did you hear about the news?"

"I did."

"Sounds pretty exciting, right?"

"Yeah."

"Odin said that he's going to meet with Zeus later today and come up with a plan. He wants us to inform Yui-san about the meeting and invite her to it."

"I see."

Balder stood up from his seat with his now empty cup and began to walk towards the kitchen to get more tea when suddenly Apollon, Hades, Dionysus, Takeru and Tsukito appeared right in front of him. The sudden appearance of his friends startled him and he lost his balance and fell to the floor. "Apollon, this is the wrong cottage." Hades pointed out. "And you are supposed to knock before entering someone's home." Dionysus added. "What if Kusanagi Yui was in the middle of changing clothes?" Tsukito asked and Takeru's face turned red at his brother's comment.

"Umm… everyone?" Balder said in surprise from the floor.

"Haha! Bal-Bal, hello! And Thor-Thor too!" Apollon greeted.

"Hello." Thor replied.

"What are you all doing here?" Balder asked as Hades helped him up from the floor. "And why are you in your human forms?"

"We came to visit Kusanagi." Hades answered. "We looked for her by her old home but she wasn't there, so we came here. But it seems Apollon teleported us to the wrong place."

"I see." Balder smiled, understanding. "Well, I don't know if Yui-san is back yet but-"

"There's no time to lose!" Apollon interrupted him. "To Fairy's cottage everyone!"

Apollon ran out the door, forgetting it was pretty slippery outside. He slipped on the snow and ice covered ground and slid down the road at a very high speed. "Apollon!" Hades and Takeru shouted after him. Dionysus just sighed, "Not again…"

"Agana Belea is sliding into the direction of Yui-san's cottage." Balder commented as Apollon continued to slide through the snow and was slowly getting out of sight.

"I guess we just have to follow him. See you guys later!" Takeru said and started running after the god of the sun, careful not to slip and fall as well. Tsukito and Dionysus followed suit.

"Take care." Hades told the two Norse gods before he followed the others.

"You too." Balder replied and took a few steps outside the cottage. "And be careful not to fa- Aahh!" Balder exclaimed as he fell and landed on his butt.

Apollon had Yui's cottage in sight as he continued to slide down the road. "There it is everyone! There it is!" He laughed. He was getting closer and closer to the cottage and showed no signs of slowing down. The others who were trying to keep up with him started to panic, at this rate, Apollon would crash into Yui's home! "Stop him!" Dionysus called. "It's too late, he's going to-!" Takeru shouted.

Apollon was now dangerously close to the cottage. "We're coming, Fairyyyyyyyyy!"

 _ **Crash!**_

He flew right through the door, leaving a big hole in it, and crash landed on the floor inside.

The remaining 4 gods stopped dead in their tracks and their mouths hung open at the sight. If it hadn't been Yui's home Apollon just crashed into, then they would have laughed at the funny scene that just took place in front of them. "Apollon, you idiot!" Takeru screamed. "You broke it!" Dionysus added. How were they going to explain this to Yui?

Apollon acted like he didn't hear them and peeked through the big hole in the door. "It's really nice and warm inside!" He called cheerfully.

"Apollon…" Hades sighed.

"Kusanagi Yui's door is broken." Tsukito stated.

"Yes brother, we can see that…" Takeru said and rubbed his hair as he inspected the door.

"That was really fun!" Apollon laughed.

"Fun? ! You just crashed through the freaking door!" Takeru shouted. "What is Weed going to say about this?"

Apollon opened the door from inside and looked at it. "It's not that bad, I'm sure we can fix it."

The moment he said that, the door fell and landed flat on the ground.

" _ **Apollooooon…**_ " Takeru hissed through his teeth.

"Put the door back for now, we just have to explain it to Kusanagi and get a new door for her." Hades said with his arms crossed.

"Right." Dionysus agreed. "By the way, it seems Kusanagi-san isn't here either."

"Just where the hell is she?" Takeru asked.

"Let's check the human world again, she must be there somewhere!" Apollon said and teleported himself away without another word. "Has he any idea how big the human world really is?" Dionysus asked before he and the others followed Apollon back to earth.

But right after they had vanished, Yui appeared from the portal inside her bedroom. "That was really relaxing." She sighed with a smile as she walked over to the bed and sat down on it. Hugin and Munin jumped down from her shoulders and landed on the bed as well. "Well, I guess I need to get ready. Loki-san said I could come over once I got back."

The two ravens didn't miss Yui's slightly red cheeks when she mentioned Loki.

"But maybe I should take a nap first? I feel a little tired."

The two ravens croaked in reply.

"I think I'll do that." She said and laid down on the bed. "Just for a few hours." Hugin and Munin cuddled up next to her, apparently they were in no hurry to get back to Odin.

* * *

Yui woke up a few hours later. She rubbed her eyes and looked to the side, the ravens were still there beside her. She stood up from the bed and walked over to the wardrobe and took out her white dress. "Hugin, Munin, are you guys awake?" She whispered. The two birds immediately stood up without a warning, spread their wings and flew from the bed and landed on top of the wardrobe.

"I'm starting to feel a little nervous. This is the first time I'm going to have dinner alone with him. It almost feels like… a date."

Her cheeks turned red and the birds croaked loudly in reply. "I know, I shouldn't worry. It's going to be fine and I actually look forward to it." She hurried and changed into the dress and took off the necklace and placed it on the bed. "I think I'll have my hair in a low ponytail this time." She said to herself and grabbed her hand mirror to inspect herself. After a moment, she realised it was getting very cold for some reason. ' _That's_ _strange, it's never been this cold before._ ' She thought and stepped out from the bedroom, the ravens were close behind. And as soon as she stepped into the living room she could clearly see why it had gotten so cold. With a surprised and confused look on her face, her eyes got stuck to the door. There was a big hole in it! "W-Wha-?" She stuttered.

Hugin and Munin flew over to it and flew through the big hole and landed outside. Yui followed them and opened the door. The first thing she saw was a very long trail of flattened snow which led to her cottage. It looked just like someone had been sliding down the road and then crashed into the door. The pictures in her head made her giggle and the ravens looked at her in confusion. Someone had just destroyed her door and she was laughing?

Once Yui had calmed herself down she started thinking about who it could have been. But more importantly, she definitely needed a new door. "I'm going to go over to Loki-san's place now and ask if he can help me. Thank you both so much for joining me today." She told the big birds with a sweet smile.

Hugin and Munin croaked before they took off to the sky and disappeared, they were probably going back to their master now.

Yui immediately started walking towards Loki's cottage, silently thanking it wasn't very far away. The snow was pretty deep but she still managed to get there in less than 5 minutes. Once she stood in front of the cottage, she knocked on the door and waited for Loki to open it.

The door flew open, startling Yui a little, and revealed a smirking Loki inside. "Why hello there, Kitten. Back from your little trip I see."

"Yeah, I am." Yui answered with a small smile. "But I could really use your help, Loki-san."

"Oh?"

"You see… It seems someone crashed into my door while I was away." Yui tried to explain.

"... Someone did… what?" Loki asked as he tried not to laugh.

Yui couldn't help but smile as well. "It looks like someone slid down the road and crash landed. There's a big hole in the door and it's starting to get really cold inside."

"Let's go there so I can take a look!" Loki exclaimed in excitement. He picked Yui up and started flying towards her home. "L-Loki-san?" Yui stuttered, she definitely wasn't used to Loki just picking her up like that.

They landed just outside the cottage and Loki immediately started laughing at the sight. That hole sure was big. "Just what the hell happened here? !" He laughed. He was actually laughing so hard he had to hold his stomach. "Aww man! I wish I was here when it happened."

"Do you know where I can get a new door?" Yui asked.

"Yeah." Loki answered once he had calmed himself. "There is someone who can make a new door for you but he won't be making anything until tomorrow. He's going on a meeting with Odin and Zeus today to discuss something."

"I see, I guess I will have to endure the cold until tomorrow then." Yui told herself.

"Haha, not a chance, sweetie. There's no way I'm going to let you go to sleep cold tonight, you're staying with me." Loki stated.

"S-Staying with you?" Yui asked in surprise.

"It's just one night, right? So it should be fine."

Yui couldn't believe her ears. "Th-That's really sweet of you Loki-san, but-"

"Great! Let's go get your stuff!" Loki exclaimed in excitement and ran to enter her house.

"Wait!" Yui called and ran after him. "I haven't agreed yet!"

She barely made it inside before Loki came out again with a nightgown and a toothbrush. "That's all you need, let's go!" He laughed as he walked past her.

"But Loki-san!" Yui called after him.

"Don't worry about it, Kitten! I'll sleep on the couch and you can have the bed."

"What? ! No, no, no, I can't do that!"

"You're my guest, so you can take the bed."

"I don't want to intrude like that! I'll take the couch."

"No way!"

"But-"

"You're taking the bed and that's it!"

"Loki-san!"

And so, they argued like that the whole way back to Loki's house. And Yui never realised she had somehow, in a way, agreed to stay with him. Loki opened the door to his cottage and the two went inside. As soon as Yui started to look around she noticed the dining table in the middle of the room, it was decorated nicely and had two candles in the middle. "Hope you're hungry, we're having steak tonight." Loki informed with confidence.

"Sounds good." Yui smiled.

"By the way." Loki turned around to face her. "Zeus and Odin asked us to invite you to that meeting later."

"Really?"

"Yeah, they believe you're going to be useful in their new plan."

"Wow, now I'm curious."

"I'll take you there later but let's eat first." Loki smirked and turned around to walk into the kitchen. "Take a seat, Kitten!"

"Oh, are you sure you don't want my help?" Yui called after him.

"I've got this, sweetheart, just feel like home."

"Alright then." Yui walked over to the couch and sat down on it. On the table in front of it she noticed a book. ' _I didn't know Loki-san liked to read?_ ' She thought as she picked it up and read the title. She started giggling. ' _1000 pranks to pull. Of course it was a book about pranks._ ' She opened the book and started reading it, thinking it was a good way to pass time on. Also, maybe she could predict some of Loki's future pranks if she read it.

Yui was so focused on the book she didn't notice Loki stepping out of the kitchen and placed the food on the table. He then threw a look at her and started smirking, he knew exactly why she was reading that book. He slowly moved to the side and walked around the couch so that he was behind her.

' _Some of these pranks are kind of dangerous, I hope he isn't planning on doing_ _ **all**_ _of them!_ ' Yui thought. She was just about to turn the page when someone grabbed her shoulders, scaring the shit out of her, and she let out a scream as she jumped high in the air. In just a second, she was standing on the other side of the table in front of the couch, ready to hit the one who had startled her with the book in her hand.

"Dinner's ready, Kitten!" Loki laughed from the other side of the couch.

"Loki-san! You-You-!"

"Haha calm down, it's just me."

"Oh my god…" Yui sighed in relief as her body slowly sank to the floor. "You scared the life out of me."

Loki let out another laugh and walked over to her and offered his hand to her. "You're really fun to tease, Kitten."

Yui's cheeks turned red but she took his hand anyway. "S-Shut up…" She whispered in embarrassment as he helped her up from the floor.

* * *

"Mmm… This is really tasty, Loki-san!"

"I'm really good at cooking you know." Loki answered proudly and took another bite.

"I could eat food like this every day." Yui smiled widely.

"I wouldn't mind." Loki answered with a smirk.

His answer surprised Yui but she just laughed it off, thinking that he must be joking. You could never truly know what was going on in that god's head.

Then, without warning, the door suddenly flew open and revealed 5 familiar faces. "Loki-Loki!" Apollon shouted with worry. "We can't find Fairy anywhere, have you seen-! ?"

"..."

Loki and Yui just stared at their friends who had just burst through the door.

"Oh, there she is." Dionysus said.

"Fairy! I'm so glad you alright!" Apollon exclaimed.

"We've been looking everywhere for you!" Takeru shouted. "Where have you been?"

"I feel relieved." Hades pointed out.

"It seems we didn't need to worry after all." Tsukito said in his usual relaxed voice.

Yui and Loki were still too surprised to say anything.

Once the 5 friends in the doorway had taken a few deep breaths they began to realise what was going on in front of them. "Umm… I believe we came at a bad time." Dionysus stated and rubbed his head, slightly embarrassed about the situation.

 **A/N: There you go and hope you enjoyed it! I'm having really fun writing this ^_^ The next chapter will be out in about 3-5 days!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Previously:**

"We've been looking everywhere for you!" Takeru shouted. "Where have you been?"

"I feel relieved." Hades pointed out.

"It seems we didn't need to worry after all." Tsukito said in his usual relaxed voice.

Yui and Loki were still too surprised to say anything.

Once the 5 friends in the doorway had taken a few deep breaths they began to realise what was going on in front of them. "Umm… I believe we came at a bad time." Dionysus stated and rubbed his head, slightly embarrassed about the situation.

 **Now:**

"Hello everyone." Yui greeted them. "What's going on?"

"And close the door already, the food gets cold!" Loki shouted.

"Oh, sorry!" Hades apologized. He and the others stepped inside and closed the door behind them.

"We've been looking for you all day, Fairy." Apollon explained in a dramatic voice. "We thought you were regretting your decision to live here so we got worried."

Yui looked at him in confusion. "Why would you think that?"

"Zeus told us you went to visit your old home today, so we thought you might feel homesick." Takeru explained.

"Oh you guys." Yui giggled. "You don't have to worry, I only visited my old home to sort out my feelings. I don't regret my decision, I'm here to stay."

"That's good." Tsukito said.

"What a relief!" Apollon laughed.

"But where were you exactly?" Takeru asked. "You weren't at your old home when we came to look for you."

"Oh, it was only a quick visit. Right after that I went to a hot spring to relax."

"A hot spring? !" Loki suddenly exclaimed. "Invite me next time you're going!"

"L-Loki-san?"

"No way! There's no way you're going to take a bath with Weed!" Takeru shouted. "And what is this anyway? You two are eating dinner together like it's nothing."

"Um, well, Loki-san invited me to dinner today, so…" Yui tried to explain.

"No harm done there." Hades smiled, understanding. "But speaking of doing harm… I believe there's something Apollon would like to tell you, Kusanagi."

"That's right." Takeru agreed and gave Apollon a push in Yui's direction.

"Right, I, umm…" Apollon began. "I kind of crashed into your door earlier, sorry."

Yui's and Loki's eyes widened and it was quiet for a moment before they burst out laughing. "Hahaha, oh Apollon-san!" Yui laughed.

"Now I _**really**_ wish I was there to see it!" Loki laughed as well.

"You're not angry?" Apollon asked.

"Of course not, Apollon-san! I was a little surprised when I noticed but I figured it was an accident."

"Phew… I feel a little better now." Apollon sighed in relief.

"We're going to replace the door of course." Dionysus reassured her.

"No need." Loki answered before Yui could. "We have someone here who can fix a new door for her tomorrow."

"Tomorrow? Isn't it going to be difficult to sleep when it's this cold outside?" Hades asked.

"Exactly, that's why she is staying with me tonight." Loki informed them as if it was nothing.

"..."

"What? !" Apollon and Takeru exclaimed.

Yui started blushing. "Well, you see, he won't be able to fix it because of a meeting today, so Loki-san offered to let me stay here."

"You don't need to act so surprised." Dionysus told his brother and Takeru. "It's kind of our fault Kusanagi-san has to spend the night here in the first place."

"That's right." Loki smirked and stood up from his seat. "And I don't mind having Kitten to myself _**aaaall**_ night."

"Why you!" Takeru shouted, obviously irritated. Hades and Tsukito had to hold him back so he wouldn't attack the god of fire in his own home.

"Anyway." Dionysus started. "We should get going now, have a nice day."

"We will come visit another time, Kusanagi Yui." Tsukito said.

"Of course!" Yui called as her friends opened the door to leave and watched as Hades and Tsukito had to drag Takeru out the door.

"Bye Fairy! Bye Loki-Loki!" Apollon smiled widely before he closed the door behind them.

Yui turned to Loki the moment they were left alone. "You just _**had**_ to say that, Loki-san…?"

"Don't know what you're talking about." He grinned as he sat down again and started eating.

Yui let out a small sigh but decided to end the conversations there.

* * *

"Thanks for the food, Loki-san." Yui thanked as Loki took the now empty plates from the table.

"No problem, Kitten." He replied, smiling, and started heading for for the kitchen.

"When is the meeting starting again?"

"Hmm, it started about half an hour ago."

"Oh… WHAT? !" Yui shouted in panic. "It started half an hour ago? !"

"Why are you screaming?" Loki called from the kitchen.

"Because we're late, Loki-san!" Yui cried out and hurried to the door to put her shoes on. Loki stepped out of the kitchen and walked over to her calmly. "Take it easy, Kitten, we can afford to be a little late."

"We're leaving, NOW!"

And _that's_ just how Loki was… Nothing seemed to worry him, not even being late to a meeting with the rulers themselves…

* * *

"So you finally decided to make an appearance." Zeus pointed out with an almost provoking smile.

Zeus and Odin had gathered Sif, Freyja, Freyr, the god of poetry Bragi, the god of the forest Vidar and Odin's wife Frigg, who was the goddess of marriage and a few other unknown gods together with all of her friends in the great hall. Yui were surprised to see her friends there, seeing that she had just talked with most of them moments ago back at Loki's cottage. She hadn't expected them to show up at the meeting. "I'm so sorry for being late!" She apologized and bowed at Zeus and the one-eyed ruler of Asgard, Odin.

"There's no need to apologize, young human." Odin stated. "It is obvious that Loki is the reason you're late."

Loki just grinned and rubbed his head. "Well, I saw no reason to rush."

"You _**never**_ see any reason to rush, Loki." Balder teased his best friend.

"True." Loki admitted proudly.

"You're not the only ones late either." Freyja pointed out. "Your Japanese and Greek friends over there showed up just minutes before you."

"That's because we just found out about the damn meeting!" Takeru shouted in defense.

"That's right! That's right!" Apollon agreed.

"You would have found out about it much sooner if you hadn't spent the whole day searching for Kusanagi." Zeus informed them.

"Who, by the way, were having a great time with _**me**_." Loki smirked, feeling confident.

"Why you little-!" Takeru started. He would have tackled Loki if Dionysus and Thor hadn't grabbed him, stopping him from taking another step.

"Are we here to fight or to talk?" Vidar asked. From what Yui knew, he was a calm and silent god with short white hair and yellow eyes but still wouldn't hesitate to use that big axe in his hand if he had to.

"Let's get down to business then." Zeus said and raised his staff, revealing the reflection of a floating island on the wall. "This is going to be our next project."

"An island?" "Another school?" Balder and Hades asked.

"It's a place all the gods can visit to either participate in different activities together, to exercise or just to relax." Zeus explained.

"Nice!" Takeru, Apollon, Dionysus and Loki exclaimed.

"And this is where you come in, Kusanagi." Odin said and turned to Yui.

"Me?"

"That's right. We want you to come up with the activities you'll be able to do on this island."

"And once you're done, you'll report to Odin and I, so we can make it happen." Zeus added.

"B-But, that's a pretty big task." Yui stuttered. "Are there any boundaries or...?"

"You get to decide everything, so there are no boundaries. We are going to send you to the island tomorrow so you can inspect it closer and make your decisions. You have one week before we come to bring you back here." Odin informed her.

Yui nodded. "Alright, I understand. But why me?"

Zeus smiled at her. "Because you are creative and are good at coming up with ideas. We need a human's opinion to make this a success and we believe you are just right for the job. We also have a small house on the island where you can live for these 7 days."

Yui thought about it for a few seconds before she answered. "Alright, I do it."

"Hold it, hold it!" Loki said dramatically. "You're not going to send her away to some island _**alone**_ , are you?"

"Yeah!" Apollon agreed. "What if something happens?"

"I don't like it either." Balder pointed out.

"Weed isn't going anywhere without protection!" Takeru added.

"You guys are so overprotective…" Sif sighed. "Don't you trust Yui to take care of herself?"

"It's not that we don't trust her. It's the fact that we care about her we don't like her being alone for so many days." Hades explained calmly.

"Hades-san…" Yui whispered with a smile.

"You don't have to worry." Frigg suddenly spoke up. "The island is safe and I will personally escort Yui there myself."

Freyr clapped his hands two times. "That's our Queen, always so thoughtful!"

"My little flower is in good hands then." Freyja sighed in relief, sounding a little too dramatic.

The old-looking god Bragi stood up from where he was sitting to speak up. "I'm really starting to look forward to this. I hope you will come up with some good ideas, Yui my dear."

"Bragi-san, I promise to do my best!" Yui smiled with confidence.

"I know you will." Bragi smiled back at the young human woman.

"Now that we agree, let's call it a night." Zeus informed. "Kusanagi, Frigg will come and get you around noon tomorrow, so be ready."

"I will." Yui promised.

"You will have to get her at my place then, since she's staying with me tonight." Loki grinned.

' _Oh, I had completely forgotten about that._ ' Yui thought as her cheeks began to turn red.

"And why is Yui staying with you, god of fire?" Frigg asked.

"Because the little sunshine over there crashed into Kitten's door earlier, so now it's too cold for her in there."

All eyes turned to Apollon.

"It was an accident and I apologized already! I apologized!" Apollon cried out in defense.

"So it's your fault Kusanagi is staying with the prankster?" Freyr asked, narrowing his eyes at Apollon.

"You can stay with me instead, sweetheart! I promise to keep you warm all night!" Freyja immediately suggested.

Freyr turned to his sister and elbowed her in the arm. "As if I'd let you do that, sis."

"You could always stay with me if you want." Sif suggested.

"I didn't know Yui-san was going to stay with Loki. If I had known about her door, then I would have offered her to stay with me." Balder pointed out.

"Actually." Vidar spoke. "I wouldn't mind if Yui-san stayed with me, either."

"This is getting out of hand…" Hades sighed. "You said it, Hades-san…" Dionysus agreed with his uncle.

"Well, she has already decided to stay with me, so there's nothing you losers can do about it!" Loki smirked in confidence and put his hands on Yui's shoulders from behind and began to push her towards the exit. "See you later!" He called without looking back.

"Um, Loki-san, w-wait!" Yui cried out.

"Have a good night's sleep, Yui." Frigg and Bragi called in unison.

"We will fix that door for you as well." Odin assured her.

"Take care, Kusanagi." Zeus added.

"A-alright, thanks! Goodnight!" Yui called back just before Loki pushed her out the door and closed it behind them.

It was quiet for a few seconds before Sif turned to Thor. "Will you stay with me instead, Thor?"

"... I don't mind."

* * *

"Loki-san?" Loki was holding her hand, dragging her behind him as he walked into the direction of his cottage. "There's no way I'm going to let her stay with any of those maniacs." Loki hissed quietly through his teeth. Yui looked at him in confusion. "Are you jealous?"

Loki suddenly stopped walking and spun around. "Why would I be jealo-!" He then noticed Yui's hand in his and quickly let go. "Never mind, let's go."

Yui couldn't help but smile at the whole situation before she jogged after Loki. ' _Oh well._ ' She thought. ' _Loki-san is just showing off to the others. Sure, it was nice of him to let me stay with him but it's obvious he's just trying to make the others jealous when he's bragging about it. I know Loki-san cares about me but that's it, he's just being flirtatious with me to get a reaction from the others. That's just how he is, and I accept that._ '

Once they made it back, Loki opened the door and moved out of the way to let Yui in first. "My lady." He grinned at her. Yui decided to play along. "Thank you, kind god." She giggled as she entered. When both of them were inside Loki closed the door before he started walking towards the bedroom. "I'll prepare the bed for you."

Yui almost jumped as she remembered their little fight earlier about where she would sleep. "Wait, Loki-san! Please, let me take the couch."

"Still haven't given up yet, huh, Kitten?"

"I just don't want to steal the bed from you, I'm staying in _**your**_ cottage after all…"

"And you're my guest, so I'm telling you to take the bed. I usually fall asleep on the couch anyway, so it really doesn't matter."

"But, is it really alright?"

"You need to sleep comfortably tonight, right? You have a big day ahead of you tomorrow, remember." Loki reminded her, still grinning. He knew he had won the argument.

Yui sighed deeply. "Alright, alright, you win."

"Wohoo!" Loki laughed before he disappeared into the bedroom but it didn't take long before he appeared again with a blanket and a pillow. "Just going to make it a little comfortable for myself as well." He smiled in satisfaction and threw the stuff on the couch. "The bed's ready for you."

"Thanks, Loki-san, goodnight." Yui smiled gratefully at him.

"Night, Kitten!" Loki replied.

* * *

Loki's bed was really comfortable, Yui just had to close her eyes to fall asleep in a matter of seconds, it usually took her about half an hour to fall asleep. Must be because she had someone there with her this time, so she was feeling a little more relaxed. Not that she was afraid of anything in particular, it just felt kind of good to have someone close by in case something happened. Her body was able to relax completely thanks to that thought.

When morning came, Loki and Yui went on with their morning routines. They cleaned themselves up, had breakfast and then relaxed by the fireplace. Or Yui relaxed, Loki was building something that looked like a trap on the table with candles. How he managed to do that Yui didn't even bother thinking about, she was just going to overwork her brain if she did. It was almost time for Frigg to come and get her, so Yui was just going to take it easy and wait patiently for the goddess. 7 days from now she was going to live alone in a house on an island in the middle of nowhere. She was pretty excited about it but still a little nervous, she had to explore the whole island and come up with ideas for different activities after all. No pressure…

She didn't get to think about it for long when someone suddenly knocked on the door and Frigg let herself in without waiting for a reply. The cold wind that past through the door as she opened it made the candles Loki was working on fall, roll away and land on the floor. Loki frowned at the older goddess. "You just _**had**_ to do that?"

Frigg closed the door behind her. "Whatever you were making, I'm glad I stopped it." She answered plainly without looking at him. Her eyes were clearly focused on the human sitting in front of the fireplace.

"Come on, Frigg, what harm could I possibly do with candles?" Loki asked innocently.

"Probably enough to set the whole town on fire…"

Yui giggled at Frigg's comment. "Is it time to leave?"

"It is." Frigg answered with a gentle smile, ignoring the glares the god of fire was sending her way.

Yui stood up and walked over to her. "I'm ready." She said before she turned to Loki. "Thank you so much, Loki-san, for letting me sleep here."

"No, thank _**you**_." Loki smirked at her.

Frigg sighed at Loki's behaviour. "Enough with the flirting. Yui, let's be on our way."

"Alright, bye Loki-san! I'll see you when I return."

"I look forward to that, Kitten!" Loki replied and watched as the two women left the cottage. Once they were outside, Frigg wasted no time. She placed a hand on Yui's shoulder to connect them before she teleported them to the island.

When Yui opened her eyes she was standing on soft green grass instead of cold snow, the sun was shining and not a single cloud covered the sky. She took a look around and noticed that everything was green and there were flowers everywhere, further down the road stood a small house and as her eyes continued to scan her surroundings she spotted mountains, a forest, a lake and she could even see the ocean far away. "What a nice place." She whispered to herself.

"I guess you like what you see." Frigg giggled a little.

Oh, that's right! Yui wasn't here alone, Frigg was with her. She had been so impressed by her surroundings she had entered her own little world, forgetting that the goddess of marriage was there. "Oh, I'm sorry. Guess I spaced out for a moment."

"Don't worry about it at all, young human. Come on, I'll show you to your house."

 **A/N: Thanks for the reviews, they make me so happy ^_^ Next chapter will be out in 2-3 days!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Previously:**

When Yui opened her eyes she was standing on soft green grass instead of cold snow, the sun was shining and not a single cloud covered the sky. She took a look around and noticed that everything was green and there were flowers everywhere, further down the road stood a small house and as her eyes continued to scan her surroundings she spotted mountains, a forest, a lake and she could even see the ocean far away. "What a nice place." She whispered to herself.

"I guess you like what you see." Frigg giggled a little.

Oh, that's right! Yui wasn't here alone, Frigg was with her. She had been so impressed by her surroundings she had entered her own little world, forgetting that the goddess of marriage was there. "Oh, I'm sorry. Guess I spaced out for a moment."

"Don't worry about it at all, young human. Come on, I'll show you to your house."

 **Now:**

"This is where you'll be staying for the upcoming 7 days, starting today." Frigg explained as she showed Yui around the house. Yui immediately thought the house was fit for humans, it almost felt like she was back on earth. "If I may ask, Frigg-san."

"Of course."

"You have built this house the way humans do, why?"

"It's because we gods like the way you humans do certain things. Your way of designing houses are one of them. We wanted this island to have a human touch, that's why we sent you here. This is going to be a place so different from what gods are used to and we believe that's going to excite them."

"I see, good plan." Yui approved.

"It is, isn't it?"

Next step was to give Yui the map of the island, so she wouldn't get lost. She could also use it to mark places she thought would be a good idea to have a certain activity on.

"I hope I haven't confused you about anything?" Frigg asked as she prepared to leave.

"No, I think I've got this." Yui assured her.

"We will check up on you soon, so don't be afraid that we're going to leave you here for 7 days without any contact."

"Thanks, I appreciate that. Take care Frigg-san."

"You too, Yui. Good luck!"

Then she disappeared, like she was never there in the first place and Yui was left on the floating island alone. "Alright then, let's get started." She said to herself and unfolded the map. "I think I'll start by the ocean. Might as well bring a bikini." She smiled and turned around to walk back to the house. Of course they had brought a few changes of clothes for her, including a bikini. She found that out when Frigg was showing her around the house, it was actually Sif who had selected them for her and brought them here yesterday right after the meeting. It wasn't like they expected her to work on the preparations all hours of the day, she was free to enjoy herself if she wanted. Frigg had told her to see it as a small vacation with a few responsibilities here and there.

Yui walked out of the house, dressed only in a white bikini, a towel over her shoulder and the map and a pen in her hands. ' _I'm alone here so it's not like anyone's going to see me walking around like this._ ' She thought and started heading towards the ocean. According to the map, there was supposed to be a beach over there and if she continued to follow this road, she would get there.

It took only about 10 minutes to reach the beach from the house. "Aahh, this is going to be relaxing." She sighed. "But first, here should be a good spot to place surfboards, play volleyball and it would be fun if we could parasail as well. We would need a boat for that but I'll write it down." She placed the map in the sand, marked the spot and wrote down her ideas. She had been on the island for barely half an hour and was already making progress, now she could relax for a moment without feeling guilty. She placed the towel in the sand over the map so it wouldn't blow away and laid down on it. ' _I could get used to this._ '

An hour passed before she decided to check out one of the lakes she had seen on the map.

The island was pretty big and it took her 20 minutes to get to the lake she had chosen, the one by the house didn't have the right surroundings for what she had in mind. This lake was surrounded by trees and she felt very calm once she sat down in front of it. "Yes, this feels right." She confirmed and immediately wrote it down on the map. ' _This is the perfect spot for yoga and meditation._ '

The rest of the day she spent just walking around and took in her surroundings. Perhaps she could come up with more ideas if she slept on it tonight, now she knew a few places they could have other activities on after all.

Once she reached the house it was slowly getting dark and she was glad she had decided to head back the moment she did. She knew she had nothing to be scared of but she still didn't like to walk around in a unfamiliar place at night, she could get lost and she definitely wouldn't want to sleep outside only surrounded by trees. She slowly walked up the stairs to the bedroom, her muscles were aching and it felt like she just made it back from a day of hard training. "Can't let the aching stop me, because I'm definitely going to check out one of the mountains tomorrow." She told herself and threw herself on the bed, feeling pretty excited about the upcoming day.

* * *

Yui woke up early the next day, her muscles felt relaxed and she felt more than ready to face the day. She hurried down the stairs in only her nightgown to have some breakfast. It was pretty revealing actually, the color was deep pink, revealed almost half of her chest, no fabric covered her shoulders except for two strings and it barely covered her butt. It was definitely Freyja who had picked this one.

' _I'm just going to have a quick breakfast before I head out. It's such a nice weather I think I'm going to leave the door open as I prepare something._ ' She thought and walked over to the door.

But just as she opened the door, it revealed 4 figures, one of them looked like he was about to knock.

She gasped at the sight. She now stood face to face with the human forms of Loki, Dionysus, Hades and Tsukito, who all had a look of surprise on their faces. And it wasn't just because she had opened the door before Dionysus could even knock, they were actually more surprised to see her so… undressed.

Yui's face turned bright red from embarrassment, Hades started blushing, Loki was smirking and Dionysus was covering Tsukito's eyes, forgetting about himself as he stared her down. Yui backed away as she stuttered, "W-what, what a-are you doing here?"

"We thought we could come and surprise you, Kitten!" Loki grinned as he entered the house. "But it seems like _**you**_ were the one to surprise _**us**_."

"I-I-It's not what you think!" Yui cried out and hurried up the stairs to quickly put some clothes on.

"Her underwear, they're white…" Tsukito pointed out. Dionysus threw a look at him and noticed Tsukito was able to peek between his fingers.

* * *

They were now all sitting by the kitchen table, Yui was still blushing and Loki was still looking very satisfied. She had put on a less revealing white tank top and a pair of black jeans shorts but her eyes still wouldn't fully meet theirs. "I see you already have a few ideas for this place." Dionysus pointed out as he and Hades inspected the map Yui had left on the table the night before.

That made Yui forget about what had taken place moments ago… almost. "Ah, yeah, I have a few ideas."

"What's parasail?" Loki asked as he read her notes.

"Umm, it's an activity where a person is towed behind a boat while attached to a specially designed canopy wing. When the boat drives off, it carries you into the air." Yui explained.

"Really?" Loki asked in surprise. "Sounds fun!"

"I definitely approve of that." Dionysus agreed. "I want to drive the boat."

"Not a good idea, Dionysus." Hades stated.

"Why not?"

"Because you are most likely going to be drunk while doing it…"

"Has never stopped me before!" Dionysus laughed proudly.

"I think I should drive it." Tsukito said.

"You want to drive a boat, Tsukito-san?" Yui asked, surprised.

"I think it would be a good learning experience."

Yui sweat dropped. "Ah, I see…"

"Hey, I should drive it-!" Loki exclaimed.

"NO!" Yui, Hades and Dionysus shouted in unison.

"Why not? !"

"Because it would be like an execution." Hades informed. Yui, Dionysus and Tsukito nodded in agreement.

"You guys don't trust me to drive it safely?"

"No." "Not really." "I don't think you would." "Loki Laevatein is too wild." Hades, Dionysus, Yui and Tsukito answered without hesitation.

Loki smirked at them. "We'll see about that."

"Anyway, Kusanagi-san, where were you planning on going today?" Dionysus asked, changing the subject.

"Oh, I was hoping to explore the mountains today."

"The mountains? By yourself?" Hades asked, a little worried and surprised.

"Well, I have to take a look around the whole island if I'm going to come up with more ideas."

"Climbing mountains are dangerous for humans." Tsukito stated.

"I know. But I also find it pretty exciting and I promise to be careful." Yui said innocently.

Loki grabbed the map to take a closer look, or pretend to anyway. "I think I'll tag along."

Yui looked at him in confusion. "... Huh?"

"I like adventures, I'm not missing out on this one."

"And now I'm _**more**_ worried than I was before." Hades sighed.

"This is not going to end well." Dionysus pointed out.

"You don't trust me with her either?" Loki asked.

"No." "Not really." "Loki Laevatein is too dangerous."

Yui giggled at their quick answers.

"I'd like to see you three even _**try**_ doing a better job at protecting her than I." Loki dared.

* * *

"Come on! You guys are so slow!" Loki laughed.

They were all climbing a mountain, a very steep part of it actually. And since they were in their human forms, it made the climbing a lot more difficult.

"Why do we need to hurry? We've got the whole day!" Dionysus called from somewhere down below. Hades was right behind him and Tsukito was a little further down.

Loki just let out a mocking laugh and continued to climb. He was getting closer to a ledge but once he reached it and began to pull himself up, he noticed two feet standing on the ledge right beside him and looked up, only to see Yui standing there, looking down at him. "You do know there is a road to the top right?" She asked, she could feel herself grinning a little.

"Thanks for telling me, Kitten." Loki grinned back and pulled himself up to stand beside her. "Did you guys hear that?" Loki called down to the others.

"You've got to be kidding me…" Dionysus sighed.

* * *

Hades, Dionysus and Tsukito looked tired as they followed Yui and Loki to the top. "I'm sorry everyone, I tried to tell you before but you seemed to be in such a hurry to climb I don't think you heard me." Yui apologized.

"No worries, Kusanagi-san." Dionysus smiled at her.

"We didn't listen, so it's our own fault." Hades added.

"I don't regret doing it!" Loki laughed.

"Of course you don't…" Dionysus whispered, irritated.

"We're almost at the top now." Yui informed.

"Well, in that case!" Loki smirked and suddenly picked Yui up in his arms. Yui wasn't prepared for that and let out a sound of surprise. "W-what are you doing? !"

"See you guys at the top!" Loki laughed as he left the safety of the road and started jumping up the rest of the steep mountain wall. "Loki-san!" Yui shouted and held onto him for dear life as he continued to jump with ease. Further down, the rest of the group were sweat dropping at the sight. "He's showing off again…" Dionysus stated.

When Loki reached the top, he landed on flat ground and put Yui down on her own feet. "That was fun, wasn't it?" He grinned.

"I thought I was going to die…" Yui whispered as she was holding a hand over racing heart.

Seconds later, the others came running to the top. "Kusanagi, are you alright?" Hades asked worriedly.

Yui smiled awkwardly. "I-I'm fine."

"Loki, that was dangerous." Dionysus pointed out.

"It was totally safe." Loki defended.

"Not if you're in your human form. Your senses and powers have weakened." Hades reminded him.

"And you lack the sense to know when to be careful." Tsukito added.

"Come on you guys, I wasn't going to drop her or anything." Loki laughed.

As Hades and Tsukito tried to get a few things into Loki's head, Yui took the opportunity to ask Dionysus for some advice. "Dionysus-san?"

"Hm?"

"I would like your opinion on this idea I just got."

"Oh? What is it?"

"To build a spa house up here."

"A spa house?"

"It's a place where you can get relaxing treatments." She explained.

"Such as?"

"Well, you can for example bathe in a hot tub, a hot spring, have a mud bath or feetbath, relax in a sauna or a steam bath, get different massages and nail care."

Dionysus liked that idea very much. "Sweet!" He exclaimed. "You can do all that in a spa house?"

"Yes."

Loki was getting bored from listening to Hades and Tsukito's nagging and decided to block out their voices and focus on something else. Like Yui and Dionysus for example.

"Can you have a drink while bathing in the hot tub?" Dionysus asked Yui but before she could answer, Loki threw himself on her from behind and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. "What are you two whispering about?" He grinned.

"L-Loki-san?" Yui said in surprise, her cheeks started to turn red.

"If you had listened from the start you would have heard about Kusanagi-san's splendid idea." Dionysus told him.

"What idea?" Hades asked as he and Tsukito walked over to where they were standing.

"To have a spa house up here! You can bathe, get massages and relax in steam baths or saunas!" Dionysus exclaimed in excitement.

"That sounds nice." Hades agreed.

"I'm going to write it down right away." Yui said and tried to unfold the map, which was kind of hard since Loki was still holding on to her. "... Um, Loki-san, do you mind?"

Loki, realising what he was doing, let her go and took a few steps back as he let out a laugh. "Haha, what? Don't like when I hold you, Kitten?"

"Umm, it's just that it's hard to take notes when I can't move, so…" Yui answered, blushing.

"Stop teasing her, Loki…" Dionysus warned and narrowed his eyes at him.

"Why so serious? I'm just fooling around."

"We know." Dionysus, Hades and Tsukito said in unison.

"Man, you guys are no fun." Loki pouted.

"There, I'm done." Yui stated, she had just finished taking notes of how she thought the spa house should be. She folded the map and stood up. "I would like to check out a spot to place an ice cream stand now."

"Oh! That cold and sweet thing that melts in your mouth?" Loki asked in excitement.

"That's right. I think it should be close to the beach, since it's a good way to cool down on."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Dionysus asked.

"Let's go!" Loki exclaimed and without any warning, picked Yui up and ran towards the edge. "Loki-san! What are you doing? !" She cried out as they got closer and closer to the edge and Loki showed no signs of slowing down. Yui screamed in panic as Loki then jumped off the cliff, and so did the rest of the group, only to find out that the moment Loki jumped, he had changed into his god form and began to fly away towards the beach.

Hades, Tsukito and Dionysus were left alone on top of the mountain, mouths open and eyes wide, as they watched their two friends slowly getting out of sight. "I think I lost my immortality for a second there…" Hades sighed, relieved that Loki didn't actually end up killing Yui.

"Yeah, me too…" Dionysus agreed.

"Loki Laevatein is dangerous." Tsukito pointed out once again.

"Let's follow them, before Loki ends up doing something even more stupid." Hades said and changed into his god form as well, since it was no use following them in their human forms.

"Like dropping her into the ocean?" Tsukito asked.

Hades and Dionysus looked at each other in panic before they both flew off the cliff and hurried after Loki and Yui. Tsukito stood where he stood for a few seconds before he decided it would be best to follow in case Loki actually _**would**_ drop Kusanagi Yui into the ocean. "She will be cold if her clothes get wet." He told himself before he flew off the mountain.

Loki and Yui were now only a minute away from the beach and Yui, who was still unsure about the whole situation, clinged to Loki. "Loki-san?"

"Yeah?"

"You act on impulse way too often…"

"Haha, but you still like me, though!"

Yui quickly turned her head to the side as she started blushing. "D-Don't flatter yourself!"

"Oh! We're here!" Loki laughed and immediately dropped down towards the ground in a freefall. "Waaaahh!" Yui cried out, she _**definitely**_ wasn't prepared for that! When she noticed they were heading down straight for the ocean, she screamed, "Loki-san, slow down or we'll-!" Loki only let out another mischievous laugh before he suddenly let go of her.

Yui was too shocked to scream as gravity brought her down.

"Kusanagi!" A voice yelled right before someone caught her, saving her from hitting the water.

Yui sighed in relief and looked up to see who had caught her. "Hades-san?" When Loki had dropped her they had been relatively close to the water already, so she wouldn't have gotten hurt, only wet, and that was enough for her to thank the gods because the material her white tank top was made of wasn't thick enough to hide the color of her bra if it had gotten wet.

"Hey! You ruined it!" Loki called down at Hades in disappointment right before Dionysus hit him in the head. "Idiot…"

"It seems like my speculations were right." Tsukito pointed out once he had caught up with them.

 **A/N: You'll get the next chapter in 4-5 days, see you then! :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Previously:**

"Oh! We're here!" Loki laughed and immediately dropped down towards the ground in a freefall. "Waaaahh!" Yui cried out, she _**definitely**_ wasn't prepared for that! When she noticed they were heading down straight for the ocean, she screamed, "Loki-san, slow down or we'll-!" Loki only let out another mischievous laugh before he suddenly let go of her.

Yui was too shocked to scream as gravity brought her down.

"Kusanagi!" A voice yelled right before someone caught her, saving her from hitting the water.

Yui sighed in relief and looked up to see who had caught her. "Hades-san?" When Loki had dropped her they had been relatively close to the water already, so she wouldn't have gotten hurt, only wet, and that was enough for her to thank the gods because the material her white tank top was made of wasn't thick enough to hide the color of her bra if it had gotten wet.

"Hey! You ruined it!" Loki called down at Hades in disappointment right before Dionysus hit him in the head. "Idiot…"

"It seems like my speculations were right." Tsukito pointed out once he had caught up with them.

 **Now:**

Hades put Yui down in the warm sand, a safe distance from the water. "Thanks, Hades-san." Yui thanked him once she was safe on the ground.

"No problem." Hades smiled at her before he turned to Loki, who just had landed behind him together with Dionysus and Tsukito. "This is why we can't leave Kusanagi alone with you." He stated.

"You ruined the fun." Loki pouted. "It wasn't like she was going to get hurt from a small fall like that."

"Whether she would get hurt or not is not the issue here." Dionysus pointed out.

"Then what's the problem?" Loki asked, totally oblivious to what he had done wrong.

"When you're pulling stunts like that, do you even care about Kusanagi's feelings?" Hades asked.

"Her feelings?"

"Like for the fact that your stunts might scare her." Tsukito explained.

"Umm, everyone?" Yui said in a small voice, trying to get their attention. But it seemed no one heard her.

"Even if it wouldn't hurt her physically, it could still hurt her mentally and sooner or later it's going to damage her trust for you." Dionysus added.

"Exactly." Hades agreed.

"Come on, you guys are overreacting." Loki sighed. "As if a small prank like that would make her lose confidence in me."

"Guys?" Yui tried again but in vain.

"You are just jealous I stole her away from you." Loki stated, smirking at Hades and Tsukito.

' _I knew he was doing it for show…_ ' Yui thought, and for some reason, couldn't help but feel a little sad about it. She knew Loki would do anything to make the others jealous, even if that meant messing with her feelings and flirt with her. Of course he would get the reactions he wanted from them if he could make her like him more than the others. Yui knew this, but still… She quickly shook her head to somehow forget about the feelings building up inside of her, feelings she didn't understand yet. Before Hades and Tsukito could talk back at Loki, Yui decided to speak up, louder this time. "Everyone!"

That caught their attention and they turned to look at her.

"It's alright, really." She smiled. "Loki-san is who he is and I accept that, even if he always scares me half to death." She added with a small laugh.

Now it was Loki's turn to be surprised. His eyes widened a little at Yui's comment about accepting him for who he was and he quickly had to look to the side so no one would see the expression on his face. ' _Pull yourself together! Remember the plan to make the others jealous, damn it!_ ' He thought. There was no way he would allow feelings to get involved in this! Loki had accepted Yui as a friend, she wasn't bad for a human actually and she was very fun to tease. But that didn't mean he would allow himself to fall for her, because even if he liked her, she was still a human. Accepting humans are one thing, falling in love with one is a completely different matter. Loki calmed himself down in a second and with a grin planted on his face, he jumped over to Yui. "That's my Kitten! Come on, let's find a place for that creamy stuff!" He laughed as he dragged Yui away from their sweat dropping friends.

* * *

When Yui woke up on the third day she made sure to put her clothes on before heading down. She didn't want to make the same embarrassing mistake she did yesterday when her friends had seen her in a very revealing nightgown. Yesterday's events had made her forget about it for the rest of that day but it all came back the moment she was on her way down the stairs this morning in the same revealing nightgown as the morning before. She practically ran back up the stairs when she realised it. Yesterday, once she had found a good place for the ice cream stand, Hades had told her it was time for them to leave and they also didn't want to bother her anymore while she was "working". They had said goodbye to each other and Yui had continued to look around the island alone for a few more hours before she had returned to the house. ' _I hope they'll like the idea of a football field. The place I chose is pretty close to the spot I chose for meditation but I think the trees around the lake are going to block out most of the noises anyone might make._ ' She thought as she was preparing some pancakes for breakfast.

The sun wasn't shining as much as it did yesterday but it was still pretty hot, so she moved a little to the side to open the window by the sink. And the moment she did, a head with red hair appeared right in front of her face. "Good morning!"

"Waaaahh!" Yui screamed as she fell backwards and landed on her back on the floor.

Loki, who was half way through the window, laughed at the sight. "Wohoo Kitten! Undressing the moment you see me? I feel flattered!"

Yui was too surprised to even think about what he meant by that but it didn't take long before she realised the black skirt she was wearing wasn't exactly _**covering**_ the lower part of her body anymore. "D-Don't look!" She cried out in embarrassment as she quickly pulled herself up from the floor to adjust the skirt.

A voice behind Loki stopped him from throwing another comment at the red-faced human. "Loki-Loki! You could have waited for us!" Apollon complained dramatically. Balder and Takeru appeared seconds later as well.

"There's no stopping you, right Loki?" Balder asked.

"Geez, why is he always like that…?" Takeru sighed, not even trying to start a fight with the prankster god.

"Loki-Loki?" Apollon said when he noticed Loki was half way through an open window to Yui's temporary home. "What are you doing?"

Loki hadn't turned to look at them once since they appeared behind him. "Just making sure you don't get to see what I just saw." Loki grinned, still looking at Yui, who was narrowing her eyes at him.

The three gods looked at him strangely, not understanding what it was he was trying to block from their sight with his body. "Loki-Loki, you shouldn't sneak in like that. Fairy's going to get mad at you." Apollon reminded him.

"She already is." Loki grinned, still not looking at them.

"What?" Takeru and Balder asked in confusion.

Yui gave Loki a light push, revealing herself to the others as he fell backwards out the window, laughing, and landed with ease in the grass. "Good morning, everyone." She greeted, pretending nothing had happened, as she leaned over the sink so they could see her better.

"Fairy! Good morning!" Apollon replied.

"I hope you're well, Yui-san?" Balder asked.

"Of course, never been better." Yui answered innocently.

Takeru raised one of his eyebrows at her. "Alright, what did Loki do?"

Yui and the others looked at him strangely. "What do you mean, Take-Take?" Apollon asked.

"Nothing happened, nothing at all." Yui assured him.

"Of course something happened, your cheeks are red." Takeru pointed out.

"It's nothing to worry about." Yui laughed awkwardly. "Why don't you all come in and-?"

"I just got a clear view of Kitten's panties." Loki grinned in satisfaction.

"On second thought…!" Yui exclaimed and quickly closed the window before hell could break loose. "He just had to say it!" She cried out to herself and rubbed her forehead.

She then noticed something in the corner of her eye. "Aaaand the door is open…"

"Woah Kitten! You're making pancakes?"

"Aaaand Loki-san's inside…" She sighed and turned around to face the god who had managed to sneak inside without her noticing. Loki was holding his head over the frying pan, smelling the pancakes. "Loki-san, don't just enter without permission." She told him, holding her hands on her hips.

"But the others looked like they wanted to kill me, so I took cover." Loki answered, grinning as he took one of the pancakes from a plate beside the frying pan and took a bite from it. "And the safest place to be when that happens is with you."

"I don't think I'm going to stop them… and stop eating my breakfast!"

"Aww come on, Kitten." Loki said and took out a fork and put a piece of the pancake on it before he walked over to her. He grabbed her hand and gave her the fork and brought it close to his mouth. "Why don't you feed the hungry god, Yui?" He smirked.

Yui's face turned red again. "W-Wha-!"

"Hold it right there, Loki!" Takeru shouted from the door.

"Oh my…" Balder gasped.

"Let go of Fairy, Loki-Loki!" Apollon cried.

"I'm just teasing her." Loki pouted in disappointment.

"We know!" Apollon, Takeru and Balder exclaimed in unison.

Yui didn't really know how to respond to this so she just stepped to the side, away from Loki, unnoticed and continued to make pancakes as the four gods continued to argue about Loki's behaviour. ' _If I just stand here quietly I might not have to get involved._ ' She thought.

* * *

The pancakes were done and the table was set for five people. Yui placed the plate of pancakes in the middle before she sat down on one of the chairs and waited patiently. Her friends had been arguing for several minutes now and didn't even notice her walking around the kitchen to get the things she needed. "And that's why you should never peek underneath a girl's skirt." Apollon finished.

"..."

' _I'm kind of glad I didn't hear the full story…_ ' Yui thought awkwardly.

Loki, Takeru and Balder just looked at him like he had just told them a very awkward and embarrassing story. "Too much details, Apollon!" Takeru hissed as his face turned red. "We-We already k-knew that, Agana Belea…" Balder stuttered.

"Oh, is that so?" Apollon asked, slightly surprised.

Yui thought this would be a good time to interrupt. "Um, everyone?"

The four gods turned to her with expressions that said that they had completely forgotten about her being there.

"Do you want some breakfast?"

* * *

"Aahh… I'm so full!" Balder sighed as he leaned back against the chair. "I don't think I'll be able to move for the rest of the day."

"Me neither…me neither…" "Totally." Apollon and Takeru agreed with him.

"That's because you ate too much!" Loki laughed and Yui nodded.

"But you ate just as much as we did, Loki." Takeru pointed out.

"True." Loki admitted and took another bite with ease. "But I can obviously handle more than you."

Yui could only smile at Loki's comment, but then she started thinking for a few seconds before she stood up from the chair. "Speaking of food…" She said to herself and made her way over to the white drawer on the other side of the kitchen. She grabbed the map she had left on it the day before and walked back to the table to clean her spot before placing the map in front of her. Her friends just watched her as she scanned the map without saying a word. About 30 seconds later she folded the map and with a confident look on her face she looked up at her confused friends and said, "Time to start working!" Before she happily hurried out the kitchen and towards the front door.

The guys looked at each other in both confusion and panic. "Yui-san? !" Balder called after her.

"Feel free to do what you want!" Yui replied as she was putting on her shoes.

The gods quickly stood up from the chairs and hurried to the door before Yui could leave. "We're coming with you!" They called.

Yui stopped her movements and turned to look at them. "You want to come, too?"

"Of course we want, Fairy!" Apollon cried out.

"You're going to need someone to protect you, right?" Takeru asked.

"I just thought you were too full to move?" Yui laughed awkwardly.

"No matter how much we eat, we are always going to have time for you." Balder explained, smiling gently at her.

Yui smiled back at him. "Balder-san…"

"I'm definitely not missing a single adventure with you, my dear Kitten." Loki grinned with his eyes closed.

"I heard you came here yesterday, too, Loki." Takeru pointed out.

"Yeah, so?"

"So go home!"

"Now, now, Takeru-san, there's no need to shout." Balder informed calmly.

"But he's already spent time with Weed! It's our turn now." Takeru argued.

"Umm…" Yui began.

"Come on Take-Take, it's more fun if there's more of us!" Apollon laughed as he clapped his hands.

"More fun? I heard Loki almost drowned her!" Takeru shouted.

Balder shook his head lightly. "Thyrsos only said that Loki dropped her but that Hades-san caught her."

Takeru's face turned red. "Doesn't matter! If Loki thinks that he can just-!"

"Hey, where are Loki-Loki and Fairy?" Apollon asked and looked around.

"Huh? !" Both Balder and Takeru exclaimed in panic. "Where the hell did they- Oh that sneaky bastard!" Takeru hissed when he noticed Loki and Yui were already walking away from the house. Loki had his arm around Yui's shoulders and was pointing at something in the distance. "I think we should check the hills first." He suggested, pretending he hadn't listened to what his friends had been talking about.

"That's fine, but I think the ground needs to be flat if it's going to work." Yui explained but went ahead with Loki anyway.

"Fairy, Loki-Loki, wait for us!" Apollon cried out as he and the other two started to run after them. "You'll pay for this, Loki!" Takeru yelled.

* * *

"This is perfect!" Yui exclaimed as she was on her hands and knees in the soft grass, writing something down on the map in front of her while her friends looked down at her with confused looks on their faces. "What's perfect, Weed?" Takeru asked

"This spot. I was thinking we should have a restaurant here." Yui explained without looking up from the map.

"A restaurant? Ah! That means food right?" Balder asked in excitement as his mouth watered. Loki raised an eyebrow at him. "How are you still able to think about food?"

"I think that's a great idea, a great idea!" Apollon uttered and dropped down to the ground next to Yui to have a better look at her notes. "Hey, hey, can't we have some explosives, too?" Yui stopped writing and looked at the sun god beside her, surprised. "Explosives? In the restaurant?"

"It's going to be so fun!" Apollon laughed.

Yui sweat dropped. "Umm, I don't think it's a good idea to have explosives at a restaurant, Apollon-san…"

"Oh? Why not?"

"Isn't it obvious why? !" Takeru shouted.

"Hehehe, that's actually not a bad idea." Loki grinned.

"Loki!" Balder and Takeru exclaimed.

"Please, no explosives at a place where you eat." Yui informed. "But if you really want that, Apollon-san, we could add a place where you can buy fireworks?"

"Fireworks! ?" Her friends exclaimed in excitement. "That awesome stuff we played with when we went to school?" Takeru asked.

"Yes, so we could show you the fun side of school."

"We really enjoyed that a lot didn't we." Balder pointed out. "I kind of miss it."

"Me too… Hey! We could place another school here so others can learn about humans as well!" Apollon suggested.

"Huh?" Yui, Loki, Balder and Takeru uttered. "Apollon-san, I thought you were the only ones among the gods who needed to learn about humans and love?" Yui asked. "Yeah, so why should we have a school here?" Loki added.

"Because!" Apollon began. "There's still so much to learn! There are so many things humans have invented, fun things, and we don't even know about half of them yet. If we can learn more about those things and how humans think, then we could renew or improve the entire world of the gods!"

"That's… actually not a bad idea…" Balder admitted.

Takeru scratched his head. "I kind of want more of the human-stuff, too."

"I suppose I could come up with more ideas for pranks if I learned more." Loki said with a sly face.

Yui thought about it for a moment before she gave in. "Alright, I can ask for another academy and hope they'll agree, since this place is supposed to be fun. Others might not think that a place where you have to study and learn things are fun."

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that, Yui-san." Balder informed. "There are many gods and goddesses out there who love to learn as much as possible. They will definitely consider an academy as fun."

"Alright then." Yui said and stood up. "Let's find good spots for a firework shop and a school."

"Yeah!" Balder and Apollon exclaimed happily. "Let's go, let's go!" Apollon laughed and pushed Balder into a random direction and with Takeru close behind. He was yelling at Apollon for going too fast, which made the clumsy Balder fall to the ground.

Loki and Yui just stood where they stood and watched their friends fool around, sweat dropping when Balder fell down for a second time. Yui let out a small laugh and said, "Well, they sure are excited."

"I just want to make them all fall." Loki snickered.

"Sure you do." Yui giggled.

"If this turns out to be a success, I'm definitely going to spend a lot of time at this place."

"I think I will, too."

"Oh?"

"Well, I just think that this is going to be a really fun place to hang out at. Especially with you, Loki-san."

Yui's statement had caught Loki by surprise and she was looking at him with a very sweet and innocent look that his eyes widened and just couldn't help but blush. He quickly laughed it off so she wouldn't notice. "Haha what makes you say that, Kitten?"

"Because you really know how to have a great time. You're so carefree and fun to be with." Yui answered honestly before she began to walk towards the others but soon stopped and turned towards him again. "I know you like to tease people more than anything. You're a prankster after all, but you're actually more than that you know." She said, smiling at him with a small blush on her face before she turned around to catch up with the others, leaving Loki to stare after her with surprised eyes and a red face.

Loki brought his hand up to his beating heart. ' _W-What the hell…? Why do I feel so warm and fluffy?_ '

He quickly had to shake it off. ' _Don't let her win. There's no way I'm falling in love with her like the others did._ ' He thought before he ran after Yui and caught up with her before she could reach the others. He grabbed her hand and started running.

"Loki-san?" Yui uttered, surprised.

"Let's go have some fun, Kitten!" Loki laughed as he ran with her towards Apollon, Balder and Takeru, who were waiting for them further ahead.

"Is it really that hard for you to NOT put your hands on her, Loki! ?" They heard Takeru yell in the distance.

 **A/N: That's it for now, hope you liked it! I'll be back to post the next chapter in 4-5 days!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Previously:**

Yui's statement had caught Loki by surprise and she was looking at him with a very sweet and innocent look that his eyes widened and just couldn't help but blush. He quickly laughed it off so she wouldn't notice. "Haha what makes you say that, Kitten?"

"Because you really know how to have a great time. You're so carefree and fun to be with." Yui answered honestly before she began to walk towards the others but soon stopped and turned towards him again. "I know you like to tease people more than anything. You're a prankster after all, but you're actually more than that you know." She said, smiling at him with a small blush on her face before she turned around to catch up with the others, leaving Loki to stare after her with surprised eyes and a red face.

Loki brought his hand up to his beating heart. ' _W-What the hell…? Why do I feel so warm and fluffy?_ '

He quickly had to shake it off. ' _Don't let her win. There's no way I'm falling in love with her like the others did._ ' He thought before he ran after Yui and caught up with her before she could reach the others. He grabbed her hand and started running.

"Loki-san?" Yui uttered, surprised by his actions.

"Let's go have some fun, Kitten!" Loki laughed as he ran with her towards Apollon, Balder and Takeru, who were waiting for them further ahead.

"Is it really that hard for you to NOT put your hands on her, Loki! ?" They heard Takeru yell in the distance.

 **Now:**

"I'm so tired…!" Yui sighed as she opened the door and leaned against it for support. Takeru and Balder walked past her into the house, dragging their feet behind them before they both fell to the floor, exhausted. All three of them looked like they had past through a firestorm, their hair stood out in all directions and their clothes were burnt in a few places.

Apollon and Loki entered a few seconds later, looking very happy. "Homemade fireworks, what a great idea!" Apollon laughed. "Told you so!" Loki replied, putting his hand on Apollon's shoulder.

"It was the worst idea EVER!" Takeru and Balder yelled from the floor.

"I have to agree with them…" Yui said and let out another sigh, relieved it was over.

Loki moved away from Apollon and grabbed Yui's shoulders from behind, pulling her away from the door. "Don't be like that Kitten!" He laughed. "It was a huge success after all!"

Yui just muttered something in reply before letting gravity pull her towards Loki's chest, too tired to support herself. "Aren't you a cute little kitten." Loki grinned and wrapped his arms around her.

"Hands… off…" Takeru muttered, his face pressed against the floor.

Yui, Balder and Takeru could all agree on that a homemade firework made of the combination of Loki's and Apollon's powers weren't a good idea, not a good idea at all!

* * *

"It's already my fourth day on this island." Yui told herself. She was sitting on the couch in the living room, looking out the window. The last two days had been very eventful since her friends obviously couldn't leave her alone, not that she was complaining, she enjoyed their company and was able to get a few things done thanks to them. ' _I wonder if some of them will come back today._ ' She thought.

Then there was a knock on the door.

She smiled to herself ' _I knew it._ ' and stood up from the couch to go answer the door. When she opened it she was a little surprised to see Thor and Sif. "Thor-san, Sif-san?"

"Yui!" Sif laughed as she threw her arms around the surprised human.

"I hope you are well, Kusanagi." Thor asked once Sif had let go of her.

"I'm very well, thank you. I'm just a little surprised, I was expecting Loki-san to fly through the door as soon as I opened it." Yui answered.

"Loki?" Sif asked, surprised. "Has he been here?"

"Yes, two days in a row now and so have the others."

"They weren't supposed to come here." Thor sighed.

"Huh?"

Sif started giggling. "Only Thor and I were supposed to check on you, the others were told to leave you alone so you could relax for a change and do what you had to do without interruption."

Yui sweat dropped. "Ah, I see."

"But it seems like you haven't been able to relax at all, especially if Loki has been here." Sif continued.

"It's alright, I've had fun." Yui explained. "Only a few incidents here and there, hehe."

"What kind of incidents?" Thor and Sif asked in unison.

"Nothing to worry about, nothing at all." Yui assured them nervously and tried to change the subject. "Why don't you come in? I was just going to make some tea."

"That would be nice." Sif said cheerfully and stepped inside with Thor close behind.

Once they were seated, Yui asked how things were going back home. "Your door is fixed, that's for sure." Sif informed. "And I'm kind of glad that this was the day we were going to check on you."

"Oh? Did something happen?" Yui asked.

There was a short moment of silence before Thor answered "Aphrodite is here."

"Aphrodite? I don't think I have met her."

"You haven't. She's the Greek goddess of love and the sister of Apollon and Dionysus." Sif explained.

Yui looked at the goddess in front of her in shock. "I had no idea that Apollon-san and Dionysus-san had a sister."

"They don't talk that much and I for example don't really like being around her. Too much drama."

"Drama?"

"Her beauty attracts attention wherever she goes, causing trouble among both gods and goddesses. Males want her and females want her gone."

"But that sounds pretty tough for her. It's not something she can help, right?"

Sif put the tea cup down on the table. "Oh believe me, she likes the attention and won't hesitate to take lovers, even though she's married."

Yui's eyes widened a little. "You mean, she cheats on her partner?"

"That's right. All the time."

"Perhaps you should explain from the beginning, Sif." Thor suggested.

"You're right. Well… Aphrodite is a very beautiful goddess and since the rivalry over her has caused more trouble than it's worth, Zeus, her father, married her to the god of craftsmanship, Hephaestus. Hephaestus wasn't considered very attractive, therefore he was not seen as a threat. Even if their marriage was arranged, he loves Aphrodite very much. He knows she takes lovers but still won't do anything to stop it, my guess is that he only wants his wife to be happy, so he lets her do what she pleases. Aphrodite on the other hand doesn't show any interest in her husband, only the beautiful things he makes for her. So that's why I don't like her."

"I see." Yui said in almost a whisper. "So that's how it is."

"And now Aphrodite has decided to pay us a visit, she's probably just tired of her lovers on Mount Olympus and wanted to try her luck in Asgard. She likes violent gods such as Ares, the Greek god of war, but he left a month ago and isn't supposed to return for another month, so…"

"How long is she going to stay?"

"Probably not for too long I hope. But we heard from Odin that she'd like to meet you, so I guess we just have to endure her visit until you return in 3 days…" Sif suddenly stopped talking and thought hard for a moment, eyes wide, before she threw her body over the table and grabbed Yui's shoulders. "That's way too long, Yui!"

"S-Sif-san?" Yui stuttered in surprise.

"Sif, calm down." Thor said calmly.

"But 3 whole days with that horny female! ? Please don't leave me, Yui! You have to protect me!"

"Umm, I doubt I will be able to do anything to protect you, Sif-san. I'm not so strong you know." Yui replied awkwardly.

Sif let go of Yui's shoulders and slowly sat back down on the chair. "Buuuut…" She complained.

"Sif, remember why we are here. We came to see how things were going." Thor reminded her.

"Oh, that's right. Is everything going as planned?"

"Everything seems to go well, yes. The others have been a great help, too" Yui answered. "I thought for sure they were going to come today too."

Sif played a little with her hair. "Well, I don't know about the others but Balder and Loki are probably busy trying to entertain Aphrodite. Odin's orders."

Yui didn't know why but for some reason she felt anxious thinking about Loki being together with another woman. She shouldn't be, there was nothing between them beside friendship and they were both free to do what they wanted. "I see… How are they entertaining her exactly?"

Sif immediately started giggling. "Loki has most likely escaped by now, leaving poor Balder to suffer alone."

Yui blinked a few times at her.

"And that's why we should leave now." Thor told Sif and stood up from the chair. "Thank you for the tea, Kusanagi."

"You're welcome, Thor-san." Yui smiled at him.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait! We're not leaving already are we?" Sif exclaimed, grabbing Thor's arm to stop him from taking another step.

"We did what we were supposed to do, we can't disturb Kusanagi any longer."

"But Aphrodite is there!"

"And we can't leave Balder alone with her if Loki has escaped." Thor stated as he walked towards the door, dragging Sif behind him as she desperately tried to stop him.

Yui followed them to the door and called after them as they walked outside, "I'm sure you'll be fine, Sif-san, don't worry!"

"Yuiiiii!" Sif cried out just before Thor teleported them away, leaving a giggling Yui in the doorway. She took a deep breath. "Alright then." She said to herself and turned around to walk back inside, only to come face to face with the red haired god of fire. "I thought they'd never leave."

Yui let out a scream and started to fall backwards but Loki caught her just in time and pulled her towards him. "I see you're literally falling for me, Kitten." He grinned down at the wide eyed human in his arms.

She quickly pulled away from him. "Loki-san, what are you doing here? Weren't you supposed to be with the goddess named Aphrodite and Balder-san?"

Just hearing her name caused Loki to let out a deep sigh. "Don't remind me. That horny female isn't interesting enough to make me stay and "entertain" her…"

Yui crossed her arms. "You ran away, Loki-san."

"So?"

"So, you can't do that… It was your duty to keep an eye on her, wasn't it?"

"Balder can handle her, I'm more interested in hanging out with you."

And right there and then, she lost. Loki had always managed to charm her enough to make her forget whatever lesson she was trying to teach him. And it bothered her a lot.

* * *

Loki had of course refused to leave and followed Yui around the island the whole day. Yui was both bothered by the fact that she had let him come with her without a fight _**and**_ that she was feeling relieved that Loki was with her instead of Aphrodite. It was no use being irritated with him, he was here now, alone with her, and there was really nothing Yui could do to stop him either. She decided to just go with the flow. But of course, it would have been a lot nicer if Loki could walk beside her and talk with her instead of running from side to side of the road, playing with everything he came over. Once Yui had stopped to write something down he had come up from behind her, startling her by forcefully putting his hands on her shoulders and asked what she was writing, earning a scolding for scaring her like that.

When they finally started to head back, Yui managed to scratch herself on a sharp rock. "Ouch!" She cried out and reached down to inspect the side of her left foot. It was bleeding.

Loki, who had been distracted by something else, noticed that she started to drop down to the ground in the corner of the eye and turned his attention to her. "What happened?" He asked as he quickly walked over to Yui, who was now sitting down on the road, holding her hand over the wound to stop the bleeding. "I think I scratched my foot on a rock."

"Let me see." Loki said and removed her hand from her foot. Blood was dripping to the ground underneath but it was nothing serious, it just needed to be cleaned up.

"How bad is it?" Yui asked.

"Not too bad, but let's hold your foot high to be sure."

"Is it that- Waah!" Yui didn't have time to react before Loki had grabbed a hold of her ankle and pulled her whole leg up high in the air, making her upper body fall flat to the ground. "-bad?" She finished with a sigh. Nothing Loki did surprised her anymore.

* * *

"Loki-san, you don't have to carry me. I can walk on my own." Yui pointed out from Loki's back.

"What kind of escort would I be if I let you walk on an injured foot?" Loki answered with a small laugh.

"Escort?" Yui giggled. "You have been playing around since we started walking."

"I know." Loki grinned. "But I still came to your rescue when you needed me!"

"True." She smiled and hugged him around the neck and leaned her head against his. "Thanks."

Loki could feel his heart beat faster when he felt her so close to him and he didn't know why.

Once they were back inside the house, Loki let Yui slide down from his back and down to the couch. "Let's get that foot treated." He said cheerfully and was just about to walk away when Yui's voice stopped him. "You are really caring, Loki-san."

"Haha, don't tell others that. It will destroy my image."

"But I mean it. You're a lot kinder than you seem sometimes."

Loki's eyes widened for a second. That beautiful smile and sparkling eyes made his heart speed up again. "If you keep flattering me I might do more than just treat your foot." He grinned down at her.

That comment made Yui turn red. "Wha-I-I didn't-!"

Loki just laughed as he walked out of the room and disappeared.

' _This is bad… I'm really letting him get to me._ " Yui thought. The blush on her face refused to go away.

Little did she know that Loki was just outside the room, leaning against the wall. He was holding a hand over his mouth and blushing cheeks. ' _Damn, she's good… What kind of counterattack was that? !_ '

* * *

And just like that, the fourth day was over. Yui's foot was treated, Loki had calmed his nerves and a few more things had been written on the map. A baseball field not far away from the football field and Yui thought that if some gods wanted to stay for a night or two a few more houses like this could be built, at least around 20 more would be good... or more… and a huge outdoor pool was also going to be built at a quiet place near the mountains.

"Don't you have to return soon, Loki-san?"

"I'm not going back, not until Odin frees me from having to babysit a full grown goddess."

The two of them were having dinner together, just like they had the day before Yui came to the island.

"Why do you and Balder-san have to watch over her anyway?"

"In case some gods decide to make a move on her or the goddesses try to murder her." Loki explained as if it was nothing.

"M-Murder? !"

"Yeah, most goddesses aren't exactly fond of her. She takes the gods' attention away from other goddesses and some would do anything to keep the competition away."

"And that's why she had to marry, right?"

Loki looked up from his food and met her eyes. "I guess Sif told you about her, huh?"

"Yes."

"Then you should know that she wants to meet you, right?"

"Yes, Sif-san and Thor-san told me. I don't get to meet her until I have returned but I'm pretty nervous."

"We won't allow her to meet you alone, so don't be."

Yui threw a strange look at him. "Why?"

"Because you have caught the attention of many gods. She might see you as a threat."

"Wha-? Have I-?"

"Indeed you have, Kitten." Loki grinned at her. "She likes to have a lot to choose from and if you are the new center of attention around the world of us gods, then her choices are limited. Believe me or not, Princess, but most of us won't seek attention from others if there already is someone we're interested in."

"Then, why aren't other goddesses after me?"

Loki let out a laugh. "Isn't it obvious? It's because they like you. Your innocence is quite charming you know."

Yui was a little stunned. How could a trickster like Loki sound so honest and sweet?

"Let's talk about something more fun!"

Yui snapped out of her thoughts. "Like what?"

"Where am I going to sleep?"

 **Silence ~**

"What?"

"And what are we going to have for breakfast?"

"Break-?"

"And what are we going to do tomorrow?"

"Do-?"

"We should totally go to the beach!"

"The-?"

"And when the day's over we can have dinner together again."

"Again-? You're planning on staying the night and tomorrow as well? !" Yui suddenly exclaimed, now realising what was going on.

"Of course!" Loki laughed. "I want a little vacation, too, you know?"

"This isn't a vacation!"

"Call it what you want, it's still a lot more fun here than in Asgard."

"But-"

"Now when that's settled, let's take a bath together!"

" **We will do no such thing!** "

* * *

Yui walked through the bedroom and sat down on the bed, tired from spending the day with Loki. She pulled the covers over her cold body and lied down, sighing in relief as she felt her body get warmer. ' _I'm so tired I feel like I could sleep for days…_ ' She thought and closed her eyes. ' _I have a feeling tomorrow is going to be a very interesting day._ ' Was her final thought before she fell asleep.

About an hour passed and Yui was sleeping like a baby, unaware of the familiar presence close by. Loki had walked out of the guest room Yui had let him sleep in and was now standing in the doorway to her bedroom, watching her as she slept with slightly narrowed eyes. He seemed to be in deep thoughts and just stood there for about two minutes before he slowly turned around and started to head back to his bedroom. "There's no way…" He whispered to himself.

 **A/N: Hello! I have a few things I need to take care of so sadly I'll be busy for a few days… But I promise the next chapter will be out before the end of next week, hope you can forgive me ^_^ Please tell me what you think of the story so far, see you soon! :)**


	7. Chapter 7

**Previously:**

"This isn't a vacation!"

"Call it what you want, it's still a lot more fun here than in Asgard."

"But-"

"Now when that's settled, let's take a bath together!"

" **We will do no such thing!** "

* * *

Yui walked through the bedroom and sat down on the bed, tired from spending the day with Loki. She pulled the covers over her cold body and lied down, sighing in relief as she felt her body get warmer. ' _I'm so tired I feel like I could sleep for days…_ ' She thought and closed her eyes. ' _I have a feeling tomorrow is going to be a very interesting day._ ' Was her final thought before she fell asleep.

About an hour passed and Yui was sleeping like a baby, unaware of the familiar presence close by. Loki had walked out of the guest room Yui had let him sleep in and was now standing in the doorway to her bedroom, watching her as she slept with slightly narrowed eyes. He seemed to be in deep thoughts and just stood there for about two minutes before he slowly turned around and started to head back to his bedroom. "There's no way…" He whispered to himself.

 **Now:**

Yui groaned a little as she was starting to wake up. She had slept in today and was feeling well rested, now she only had to slowly open her eyes and-

"Good morning, Kitten!"

"Waaahh!"

The first thing she saw was Loki's cheerful face close to hers, his body leaning over her on the bed. "Rise and shine!" Loki snickered and jumped down from the bed, taking the blanket with him.

"Loki-saaaaan!" Yui cried out, trying to cover herself with her hands. She had a look of panic over her face.

"Relax, Kitten, if you're cold I can-" Loki turned around only to see Yui sitting on the bed in a awkward position, holding her arms over her chest. "-warm… you…"

Right then, Yui saw an expression on Loki's face she had never seen before. His eyes were wide and his face was beginning to turn red. "D-Don't look at meee!" Yui exclaimed when she noticed the way Loki was staring at her.

"Holy mother of Odin!" Loki shouted. "You're naked! ?"

Indeed, Yui had fallen asleep in only a pair of black panties, the rest of her body was completely exposed. "I told you not to look!" She exclaimed again and grabbed the pillow and tried to cover herself with it the best she could.

"Why are you sleeping like that? !"

"Because it was too hot, now turn around!

Loki's expression immediately changed from embarrassment to excitement. "Nice!"

"Loki-san, damn you!" She cried out and threw the pillow at him. It hit him in the face, causing him to drop the blanket on the floor. He caught the pillow before it too could hit the ground. "How was I supposed to know you didn't have anything underneath? You should have told me."

"Told you? !" Yui yelled, removing her arms from her chest without realising it. "It wasn't like I expected you to be on top of me and steal the blanket as soon as I woke up- What are you staring at?"

She noticed he wasn't exactly looking her in the eye anymore.

Realising her mistake she quickly covered herself with her arms again and tried to make herself look as small as possible. She didn't know what to do anymore so she just sat there, her eyes closed and head down. ' _This is the worst…!_ '

A moment later, she felt something soft covering her body. She opened her eyes and saw the blanket right before a hand was placed gently on top of her head. "That's enough teasing… for now." Loki said and smiled down at the surprised girl on the bed.

He then let go of her and spun around. "Time for breakfast! Come down when you're ready."

Then he left.

Yui sat still for a moment, looking at the open door in front of her before burying her face in the blanket, face red as a tomato. "So embarrassing!"

* * *

"Come on, Yuiiiii~ Are you still mad at me?" Loki snickered behind her as they walked. Yui hadn't said a world to Loki once she had come downstairs to eat breakfast, she was way too embarrassed at the moment. Even now an hour later she refused to speak, all she did was to turn her blushing face away from him every time he tried to make eye contact. Loki had seen way more of her body than she wanted him to and she just couldn't bring herself to face him. Not until she had calmed down.

But Loki obviously couldn't take a hint. "Talk to meee…" He told her dramatically.

"..."

"Come on, you know I don't like being ignored."

' _And I don't like being stripped naked._ '

"If you won't talk to me, then I might do something dirty to make you~"

He was obviously joking but Yui still wouldn't risk it, so she turned around and narrowed her eyes at him. "Loki-san! Please!"

"Ah, there you go! Wasn't so hard was it?"

"Don't joke like that! I'm still embarrassed from what happened earlier, so please don't tease me."

Loki was about to comment on that but stopped himself when he saw tears in her eyes. "Wh-What, please don't cry! I was just joking, I'm not going to do anything alright!"

Yui managed to stop the tears from falling. "I'm not going to cry…"

"Why would you cry anyway? I tease you all the time and you usually don't mind."

"I don't know… Maybe it's because I don't like being exposed like that, you saw me almost completely naked after all. It made me feel insecure." More tears threatened to come out. "I don't mind your teasing, but could you please just don't tease me about what happened earlier?"

How could Loki ignore her when she looked so adorable, begging him like that?

He walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her. "Alright, I get it. I won't ever bring it up again, okay?"

Yui's eyes widened at his actions but she didn't really want to push him away. On instinct, her arms wrapped themselves around Loki's back. "Thank you."

Loki took this chance to lighten the mood. "Let me show you something nice." He whispered right before his mouth traveled to her ear and nibbled on it. Yui jumped back in surprise, the blush on her cheeks that had vanished just a few minutes ago reappeared instantly. "Ah, ah, wha-!"

Loki was grinning like crazy. "Haha, you're so adorable when you're blushing I just want to keep you looking like this."

Yui quickly spun around and almost ran away from him. "I take everything back! I will forget this ever happened!"

She didn't get far before a laughing Loki caught up with her. "Admit you liked it, Kitten!"

* * *

' _Hmm… What is it that gods enjoy most?_ ' Yui thought. She and Loki had been walking for awhile now and if they continued to follow this road they would soon reach the spot where they had planned to build a restaurant. ' _I've been around them long enough to know they like to drink and party._ ' Then it hit her. "A nightclub!" She exclaimed without a warning.

Loki raised an eyebrow at her. "A what?"

She turned around so that she was facing him. "A nightclub!" She repeated cheerfully.

"I heard you the first time but what is it?"

"An entertainment venue and bar where you drink alcohol and dance to music all night."

"!"

Perhaps she should have kept the idea to herself for now, Loki looked like he would explode from excitement any second now.

"Really? !"

"Um, yeah."

"Awesome! Where are we going to have it?"

"Let's see…" Yui looked at her surroundings. "Here!"

"Here?" Loki asked and looked around him as well.

"If we place it here then it will be a good distance away from the restaurant and the other activities. It's pretty loud inside a nightclub so it might be a good idea to have it in a place a little further away."

"Good point." Loki admitted and watched the human drop down to the ground to write on the map.

As she was writing, another idea entered her mind. "Hmm… Go-kart racing…?"

Loki looked down at her with interest. "Go-what? Something you do at a nightclub?"

Yui laughed and stood up. "No, it's another idea I just got. A go-kart is like, umm… You know what a car is, right?"

"Yeah?"

"Then think of it like a small car you use to race with. You drive it around the track at a high speed while trying to beat your opponents."

"!"

' _Oh no._ '

Loki changed into his god form and picked her up before she could react and took to the sky at lightning speed. "Let's find a good spot!"

"Waaaaaahh!"

* * *

Yui's hair was a mess now… Oh well, at least she got to add a few more ideas. Like mountain biking and golfing. How she was able to come up with those ideas while fearing for her life high up in the sky she had no idea. But she had to admit that she was able to cover more ground from up there. Now they were back in the house and Yui was standing in front of a mirror in the living room, trying to comb out her hair.

 _ **Tap tap**_

Yui looked to the side and saw Loki standing in the doorway, tapping on the wall. "I see the wind got you good, huh?" He smirked at her.

"Thanks to you, Loki-san."

"Oh me?" Loki asked innocently, putting his hands behind the neck. "What could I possibly have done to cause your hair to look like it got struck by lightning?"

Yui threw the comb at him, aiming at his head, but Loki caught it before it could hit him. "Feisty, aren't we?"

Now it was Yui's turn to smirk. "Since this is your fault you can at least help me comb it out."

The god of fire blinked at her a few times before changing his facial expression from confusion to amusement and started walking to where she was standing. "As you wish, my lady." He stood behind her and prepared to get to work with the human female's interesting hairstyle and when he threw a look at the mirror and saw the reflection of her surprised face he just grinned and began to comb. "Why the surprised face, Kitten?"

"I, I didn't think you would actually do it."

"Well, I caused it, so I'm going to fix it."

"I wasn't _really_ blaming you…"

Loki looked up from her hair, smiling, and met her eyes in the mirror. "I know."

After about 10 minutes Loki clapped his hands, obviously satisfied with his work. "Done!" Her hair was tied in a single braid. "Now we match."

Yui let her hand feel the long braid and smiled. "It's really well done, thank you."

"My pleasure, honey." Loki said and put the comb on top of her head, making her look like a rooster and started laughing at how funny she looked.

Yui looked surprised for a moment but started laughing too as she removed the comb from her hair and began to chase him around the house.

After a few minutes of chasing and fallen furnitures Yui finally dropped down to the floor, panting heavily and with the comb still in her hand. Loki peeked through the doorway to see what was holding her. "Tired already?" He asked when he saw her on the floor and began to walk towards her. "I was just warming up." He teased and sat down in front of her. All of a sudden Yui's eyes met his and she moved quickly to place the comb on top of his head just like he had done to her a few minutes ago. She was grinning at his confused expression. "Got you~"

Then she let her whole body fall and continued to pant. Loki just stared down at her before he let out a laugh. "Alright, alright, you got me."

"A campsite."

 _ **Silence ~**_

"... What?"

"We can have a campsite out in the woods."

Loki continued to look at her in confusion, thinking that she might have lost it. He didn't even know what a campsite was. "What are you talking about?"

Yui sat up, now breathing normally. "A campsite in the woods near the beach would be fun."

"Hold it! What is that anyway?"

"Tents." Yui answered and stood up from the floor. "I'm going to write it down." She added and walked out of the room to go find the map with a satisfied look on her face.

Loki was left alone on the floor, watching her as she walked away. He was clearly still confused. "Hey, wait for me!" He called as he too stood up and ran after her. "Kitten! What on earth are you babbling about?"

When he caught up with her she was already writing on the map on the kitchen table, so he leaned over her from behind to see what she was writing. "I know what tents are but what do they have to do with this campsite you're talking about?"

"A campsite is a place where you can put up tents and camp outside, like near the beach or in the woods." Yui explained and put the pen down beside the map once she was done. "It's very relaxing to lit a fire, tell stories and sing together once the sun is down, too."

"In that case I want to share a tent with you." Loki pointed out.

"... Hah?"

"It's no fun sleeping in a tent alone, right?"

"Bu-But why with me? !" Yui exclaimed and moved to the side so she could turn around and face him.

Loki was grinning now. "You don't want to? You hurt my feelings, Yui~"

"You-you! Don't joke like that, Loki-san!"

"Since when do I joke?" He laughed.

"Since when do you **not** joke? !"

Loki just laughed again. "Alright I get it, I won't joke like that again."

"..."

"What?"

"Like I'd believe that, Loki-san…" She said that with a sigh but she was still smiling.

"Anyway," Loki began and sat down on one of the chairs. "Where are we going tomorrow?"

"... What?"

"Because I think we should have a place for kiteboarding at the beach!" He continued and reached for something in his pocket.

Yui blinked at him. "Kiteboarding? How do you know what that i-" Loki took out a brochure from his pocket. "-How did you get that…?"

"I broke into your cottage and found this strange paper in your bookshelf."

At least he was being honest…

"You broke into my cottage? !" Yui exclaimed.

"Don't worry, I didn't break the door like Apollon did."

"That's not the issue here! You broke into my home!"

"Only because I was lonely without you."

 _ **Silence ~**_

Yui stared at him until she noticed he was grinning at her. "Don't do that! At this rate I will never know when you're joking or not!"

"Never mind that, now look!" Loki stood up from the chair in excitement and held the brochure in front of her face. "It looks so fun!"

He was good at distracting her…

She let out a deep sigh. "Alright, we'll check out a place for it tomorrow." When she realised what she had just done it was already too late. She had unintentionally agreed that he could stay another day. "Wait! I didn't-!"

"Too late, Kitten!" Loki exclaimed happily and put the brochure back in his pocket. "Now let's eat something, I'm starving!"

Yui sighed again but then her eyes traveled to the top of Loki's head and she started to snicker. "Don't you want to take that off?"

"The what?"

She was laughing now. "The comb, Loki-san!"

* * *

"Loki-san slow down, we're going too fast!" Yui screamed, trying to hold on to both Loki and the map.

They had just located a good spot for kiteboarding on the beach and was now flying around randomly, trying to come up with more ideas as they flew. Or at least Yui was, Loki was more interested in scaring the life out of the human in his arms. "Isn't this exciting!" He shouted as he flew faster and faster.

"More like scary! It's scary!" Yui cried out and hugged Loki harder around his neck and shut her eyes, not really trusting him not to drop her on purpose again.

"Alright." Loki said simply and came to a stop so that they now were completely still.

Yui slowly opened her eyes again and dared to look down, only to shut her eyes again and buried her face in the god's neck. They were _**very**_ high up in the air now. "Do you think we could go a little further down… please?"

"As my lady wishes." Loki snickered and began to fly down towards the ground. Once they landed Loki was ready to put Yui down on her own feet but she still had a pretty tight grip on him, so it was kind of impossible. "Kitten?"

"Oh, s-sorry!" Yui stuttered when she realised she was still holding on to him and loosened her grip.

When she was standing on her own two feet she felt her legs start to shake. "You alright?" Loki asked.

"Y-Yeah… just a little unsteady. I'm fine." She answered and tried taking a few steps.

"I can carry you if you want."

"Oh you don't have to do that, I can walk on my own." The moment she said that she felt like she was going to lose her balance and just a second later, her body began to fall. She shut her eyes and waited for the impact. It never came. Instead she felt two strong arms holding her up and she opened her eyes again. "Haha, I didn't think that our little flight would cause you to be unable to walk."

"Loki-san."

"Here we go." He smirked and scooped her up into his arms again. "Let's do it like this until you feel better, alright?"

Guess it wouldn't hurt. "A-Alright…" She said in almost a whisper.

"Now, where shall we go first?" Loki asked and looked around.

"I don't even know where we are anymore."

"Then let's go this way." Loki said and started walking towards a road a little further away.

"I think I'm getting out of ideas." Yui admitted.

"Well, you've already been able to come up with so many ideas it's no wonder you can't come up with more."

"I guess you're right. Tomorrow is my last day here, so what do you think? Want to do something fun?"

 **A/N: Sorry for the wait! As promised, I made it before the end of the week :) Hope you enjoyed the latest chapter and leave a review if you want before you go! Next chapter in 3-4 days! :)**


	8. Chapter 8

**Previously:**

"Here we go." He smirked and scooped her up into his arms again. "Let's do it like this until you feel better, alright?"

Guess it wouldn't hurt. "A-Alright…" She said in almost a whisper.

"Now, where shall we go first?" Loki asked and looked around.

"I don't even know where we are anymore."

"Then let's go this way." Loki said and started walking towards a road a little further away.

"I think I'm getting out of ideas." Yui admitted.

"Well, you've already been able to come up with so many ideas it's no wonder you can't come up with more."

"I guess you're right. Tomorrow is my last day here, so what do you think? Want to do something fun?"

 **Now:**

Loki stopped walking as if she had caught him off guard and looked down at her. "Now you're talking, Kitten! Alright, let's do something fun, any ideas?"

"Maybe there's something by the house we can use?"

* * *

"Found something yet?" Loki called from the living room.

"No, nothing yet!" Yui called back from upstairs in her bedroom.

"This sucks, they should have brought you something to entertain yourself with." Loki pointed out as he was looking through a drawer. A bag caught his attention since it seemed like it was hiding something big inside, so he took it out to have a look. He immediately started grinning.

"Perfect!" He said to himself as he spun around and ran out of the living room and headed towards the stairs. "Yui, look at this! The day is saved!"

* * *

Yui was hiding behind a tree with a water gun in her hand. ' _This is pretty exciting actually._ ' She thought and tried to spot where Loki was hiding. They had been playing for half an hour and Yui was pretty soaked already but it was a warm day so she dried up fast.

She hadn't seen Loki for about 5 minutes now and her body was starting to relax a little. But the sound of his voice caused her to tense up again. " _Come out, come out, Kitten~_ "

She could see him now as he moved slowly between the trees. ' _Just a little closer!_ ' She prepared herself to jump to the side and shoot him with the water gun the moment he was close enough. But that moment never seemed to come. ' _Where did he go?_ ' She thought and tried to peek to see where he was.

"Surprise!" A voice from behind her laughed.

Yui quickly jumped to the side to avoid the water Loki was shooting at her, some of the water hit her but only on her bare arm and not her clothes. She loaded the water gun and shot back at him. "I've got you now!" She laughed and rushed towards him.

"Dream on!" Loki snickered and easily dodged the water, only getting a little splash on him when it hit the tree behind him.

The two of them continued like that for at least 3 more hours, only stopping when they needed to refill the large guns. Yui was exhausted and wet from head to toe and it was getting colder, too. Her shivering body signaled to Loki that she had had enough. "I think we've had enough excitement for one day. But this was fun as hell! We're _**so**_ doing this again!"

Yui smiled at him, glad that they were able to have fun together like this. "I agree, I had a great time as well."

Loki walked up to her with a grin on his face and placed a hand on her head. "You're alright, Kitten." He complimented her and removed his hand, then he started walking in the direction of the house.

Yui didn't move at first, she was too surprised by Loki's choice of words but she quickly snapped out of it and ran after him to catch up. What he had said had made her happy and she couldn't wait to do something like this together with him again and perhaps even the others would like to join them next time, too?

Once they were back inside the house they put the water guns in the sink and Yui walked upstairs to change clothes. When she was done she walked downstairs again, only to find Loki standing by the front door, waiting for her. "I suppose I should go now." He informed but didn't sound too eager to leave.

"Already?" The words came out of Yui's mouth like it was the most natural thing to ask. It was as if she had forgotten that Loki had spent a total of 5 days on the island with her.

"What's this?" Loki smirked at her. "Missing me already?"

"What? No, not really, I mean, umm…"

"Haha, you're too cute my little Kitten. I better get back to Balder, he will probably send me to the underworld if I leave him alone with Aphrodite any longer."

Yui had almost forgotten about the goddess Loki was suppose to entertain for the time being. "Right, her, I had forgotten all about that. So I suppose you should go now."

"Yeah." Loki turned around to open the door.

"Will I see you tomorrow when I return?"

Loki didn't move at first but then turned around with the same grinning face he always used when he greeted her. "Of course! See ya Princess!" He didn't even walk outside the house before he teleported himself away, leaving the door half open. Yui stared at the door for a few seconds before she moved to close it. ' _I suppose I could go through the map one more time before I leave tomorrow._ ' She thought and headed up the stairs to get it.

' _I miss everyone, it's going to be nice seeing them again. But I'm still a little worried about meeting Aphrodite…_ '

* * *

After Loki had left the other day time seemed to pass so much slower. Yui was just sitting on her spot on the couch, waiting. She didn't even know who was going to pick her up today, or when. She wanted to make sure that the one who was coming wouldn't have to search through the whole island to find her, so she stayed inside the house. It was pretty cloudy outside too, so she didn't need to feel guilty about not going outside. "I should eat something." She told herself and stood up from the couch. "Rice balls would be nice."

She walked into the kitchen and took out the things she needed and started preparing her lunch. ' _Can't remember the last time I had rice balls._ '

She was almost done, just had to put them on a plate, when she heard light taps on the window and looked up. Her eyes met two black figures. "Hugin! Munin!" She exclaimed in excitement and hurried to open the window to let the two birds in. Hugin and Munin flew inside and landed on the kitchen-sink in front of her. "It's good to see you again, how have you been?" Yui asked while stroking their feathers gently and the two ravens croaked in response. They seemed pleased to see her again as well. ' _I don't think Odin-san sent them to pick me up, they don't have that kind of power, to be able to teleport me as well._ '

"Would you like a rice ball?"

If birds could widen their eyes, they would have. As soon as Yui mentioned food they quickly flew over to the table and waited to be served. Yui giggled at them and took two rice balls and placed them on the table in front of them before she took one herself and sat down on the chair. Hugin and Munin had already finished almost half of their rice balls when Yui took her first bite. ' _They sure have a big appetite._ '

"I suppose you're here to remind me it's time to leave soon, huh?"

Hugin looked up and croaked at her before continuing to devour the meal.

"I take that as a yes." Yui giggled. She was dressed in her usual white dress and was ready to leave at any time. The only thing missing was the person who was going to get her.

As if on cue, someone knocked on the door. ' _I guess it's time._ ' She thought and put her rice ball down on the table and went to answer the door. There was one rice ball left on the sink, thinking that the person outside perhaps would want one she took the plate as she passed it. "Coming!" She called when she was almost in front of the door and used her free hand to grab the handle. She put on a smile and opened it. "Hello- Aaaah!" She screamed. The first thing she saw was a big axe right in front of her face and she started to fall backwards while the plate with the rice ball she was holding flew up towards the owner of the axe. The moment Yui's butt hit the floor, the person outside caught the rice ball gracefully with his free hand and the plate continued out the door and landed in the grass, saving it from breaking. Yui threw a surprised look at the "attacker" when she realised who it was. "Vidar-san?"

"My deepest apologies, Yui-san. I did not mean to startle you." The god of the forest apologized with a worried look on his face.

"Oh no, it's alright!" Yui assured him and stood up quickly. "Umm…"

Vidar didn't talk much, just like Thor, so he just stood there, waiting for Yui to make the first move.

Yui then noticed that he had caught the rice ball she dropped when she fell. "Hungry?" She asked, referring to the ball in his hand. "I thought of giving it to the one who was going to come and get me."

Vidar took a good look at the thing he had caught. "Thank you, Yui-san. I will eat it."

Yui moved out of the way to invite the young god with short white hair inside. When he had walked past her she took a few steps outside to pick up the plate from the grass before following him to the kitchen.

Once they were sitting by the table Yui asked, "Your axe." It was standing behind Vidar, leaning against the sink. "Do you always carry it around with you?"

"Yes, almost." Vidar answered and took a bite of the rice ball.

"I see, I guess it can come in handy sometimes."

"Indeed. But it seems like it caused trouble today. I apologize again, I never intended to scare you with it."

"Don't worry about it at all, Vidar-san." Yui smiled. "It is me who just isn't used to this yet. I will be in time."

Vidar smiled at her. "That's good to hear."

A few minutes passed and once Vidar had taken his last bite, Hugin and Munin decided to remind the two that it was time to go and started croaking and flew around above their heads to get their attention. "I think they're trying to tell us it's time to go." Yui pointed out as she watched the ravens fly around, almost hitting the ceiling as they did.

"You're right." Vidar agreed and stood up from the chair he was sitting on and reached for his axe behind him. "Are you ready?"

"Yes, I am." Yui answered as she grabbed the map beside her on the table and stood up as well. Wouldn't want to accidentally leave it behind since all of her ideas were written on it. She walked over to Vidar and the two ravens landed on her shoulders right before Vidar took her hand in his to connect them. Yui's vision became white and out of habit, she closed her eyes.

When she opened them again she was standing in the great hall inside Odin's castle. She blinked a few times so her eyes could get used to her new surroundings. Her being human had its ups and downs when it came to teleportation, her eyes were always a bit cloudy a few seconds afterwards. But it didn't take long before she could see clearly again and when she did, she spotted all of her friends, Zeus and Odin a little further away. "Welcome back, Kusanagi." Zeus greeted. "I hope you have had a good time." Odin added.

Vidar let go of Yui's hand and the two ravens left her shoulders and flew to be with their master.

Before she could answer, Apollon, Takeru and Balder were already running towards her. "Fairy, welcome back!" Apollon laughed and threw his arms around her. "A-Apollon-san!" Yui stuttered. "Welcome back, Yui-san." Balder said with his usual sweet smile.

Takeru patted her on the back once Apollon had let go of her. "Yeah, good to have you back, Weed."

Yui couldn't help but smile too. "Balder-san, Takeru-san."

A door suddenly flew open and in stepped Frigg and Bragi. Right behind them came two other gods, one of them Yui had never met before but she did recognize the god of war, Tyr. He had light blue hair that reached his shoulders and golden eyes but what really made him stand out was the fact that he was missing his right hand. It had been bitten off a long time ago. The other god who walked beside him was wearing a red armor and his long brown hair was pulled back in a ponytail. "Can the four of you step away from Yui, please." Frigg ordered.

Vidar immediately stepped away and headed for the place where the others stood. Apollon, Takeru and Balder hesitated for a moment, so Yui had to nod at them to assure them that it was alright. Once they had left her side and were standing among the others, Frigg continued. "That's a first. They hesitated when I asked them but stepped away when you wanted them to." She was standing in front of Yui now and with the two other gods right behind her. Yui's eyes met hers and she could tell that Frigg wasn't angry or anything, just amused. "I hope the young ones haven't caused you any trouble, Yui." She asked with a teasing smile.

Yui laughed awkwardly and glanced over at her friends. Frigg knew. "They haven't been any trouble. Not at all."

"That's good to hear." Frigg said and turned her head towards Yui's friends. "But I do remember something about not allowing any of you to follow Yui to that island."

"Please," Takeru began. "As if we would listen to that."

"We had to make sure Kusanagi-san was alright after all." Dionysus added calmly.

"I bet." Was Frigg's short answer and turned her attention to Yui again. "Were you able to complete your mission?"

"I was, it's all written on this map." Yui smiled and held it up.

"Very good, Yui." Frigg praised her proudly. "Tyr, Hoenir." She said before she turned to walk towards her husband.

"Yes." They both answered and took a few steps towards Yui.

"Yui-san." Tyr greeted and held out his left hand.

"Tyr-san." Yui smiled and gave him the map.

As Tyr was walking away, Hoenir stepped forward. "It is an honor to finally meet you, Yui-sama." He greeted and gently took her hand in his. ' _S-Sama?_ ' Yui thought, a little surprised and confused. No one had ever called her Yui-sama before. But her thoughts were soon interrupted when Hoenir suddenly pulled her towards him and placed a gentle kiss on her cheek.

Yui's eyes widened and her cheeks turned bright red once Hoenir had let go of her. Although, he was still staring lovingly into her eyes.

" _ **EEEEEEEEEHHHHHH! ? ! ?**_ "

The voices belonged to Apollon, Takeru, Balder, Freyja and Freyr. Dionysus had a look of amusement on his face while his uncle, Hades, gasped at the sight. Tsukito didn't look very affected but it _**did**_ seem like he was more stiff than usual. Thor was looking a little surprised and Sif was holding a hand over her mouth.

"Ho-Hoeni-" Yui stuttered, he had completely caught her by surprise.

"Oh dear…" Frigg sighed. "Yui my dear, meet Hoenir, the god of silence."

"Ah, um, I-" Was all Yui managed to get out.

"There's no need to be shy, Yui-sama." Hoenir said calmly and reached for her hand to kiss it.

But he didn't even get to touch her before a ball of fire flew between them and made them both jump back in surprise. "Ah sorry, sorry!" Loki "apologized" from where he was standing beside Balder. He had already another fireball ready in his hand. "But that's _**my**_ Kitten you just tainted with those dirty lips of yours." He was grinning at Hoenir with his eyes closed but everyone knew that he was beyond pissed.

"Easy now Loki." Hoenir said and stepped away from the embarrassed human to avoid getting burned alive. "You and your friends have called dibs on her, I get it."

Yui's facial expression changed from embarrassment to confusion. "Hah?"

Hoenir turned to face her once again, without touching her this time. "I'll see you around, Yui-sama. And don't hesitate to come to me if you get tired of their courting."

"Why that-!" Takeru hissed.

"I will take my leave now, have a good day everyone." Hoenir smiled before he bowed to his king and queen and left through another door.

Yui stared at the now closed door, not really sure what had just taken place anymore. The sound of Zeus's voice made her gain focus again, though. "Perhaps now we can focus on what we came here for in the first place."

"I couldn't agree more." Odin stated. "Kusanagi, your work is done and we thank you for doing this."

"Oh it was my pleasure, really. I had a lot of fun."

"We know." Zeus said and turned his head towards her friends, as did Odin, Frigg, Bragi, Freyr, Freyja, Vidar and Tyr.

Dionysus was the first to speak. "What?"

"We heard from Thor and Sif that all of you went to visit her and just like my wife said, you went even though you weren't allowed to." Odin stated.

"And just like **I** said, as if we would listen to that." Takeru uttered.

"You can't expect us to stay away from Fairy!" Apollon added.

"Kusanagi Yui would have felt lonely." Tsukito informed without changing his facial expression.

"You all visited her once, that is fine but it seems like _**someone**_ spent a total of _**5**_ days with her." Frigg said and looked over at a grinning Loki and his friends turned their heads towards him as well.

"He did what?" Balder asked.

"I knew that Loki-Loki came to visit Fairy two times but-?" Apollon started.

" **Five ? !** " Takeru exclaimed.

"Problem with that?" Loki asked innocently.

"Yes!" Takeru, Freyr and Freyja shouted.

"You even disobeyed my orders, you were supposed to look after Zeus's daughter with Balder." Odin reminded him, but he was so used to Loki's behaviour that this didn't surprise him at all. He didn't look angry either. He had of course known from the start that Loki was going to escape…

"You were spending time with Weed when we weren't there you-!" Takeru yelled.

"Hey, I simply went to be with her, I wouldn't have stopped you if you had asked to come with me." Loki answered with a grin.

"You didn't even tell us you were going in the first place!"

"Not my problem."

Now it was Freyja's turn to raise her voice. "I'm not going to allow you to take my little flower away from me! Yui-chan is mine!"

"Yours? !" Her brother exclaimed.

"Excuse me, but _**your little flower**_ and I were having a lot of fun together, especially when I found those water guns." Loki grinned teasingly at Freyja.

"I'll kill you!" Freyja shouted and poor Sif and Thor had to hold the goddess back.

Yui sweat dropped, this was going to turn into a war zone if no one stopped them.

The door behind her suddenly flew open and slammed into the wall behind it which made her jump in surprise and spun around to see who just had made such a dramatic entrance. There, in the doorway, stood the most beautiful goddess Yui had ever seen. ' _Could this be-?_ ' She thought. The Greek goddess of love, Aphrodite, was dressed in a elegant white dress, her light brown and wavy hair hung over her shoulders and her golden eyes seemed to sparkle so beautifully. "Alright, I'm tired of waiting! Where is she?" Even her voice sounded beautiful, even when she was irritated. The goddess walked further into the room, she hadn't spotted Yui yet.

"Aphrodite, I told you to stay in the guest room." Zeus told his daughter. Apollon scratched his hair, not sure if he should say anything while Dionysus simply frowned at her and Hades sighed at her behaviour.

Aphrodite had stopped walking and was now standing just a little further away from Yui. Everyone seemed to be holding their breath as she slowly turned her head to the side. Their eyes met. "There she is." Aphrodite said, grinning maliciously at her.

 **A/N: Next chapter in 4-5 days! Bye for now! :)**


	9. Chapter 9

**Previously:**

Now it was Freyja's turn to raise her voice. "I'm not going to allow you to take my little flower away from me! Yui-chan is mine!"

"Yours? !" Her brother exclaimed.

"Excuse me, but _**your little flower**_ and I was having a lot of fun together, especially when I found those water guns." Loki grinned teasingly at Freyja.

"I'll kill you!" Freyja shouted and poor Sif and Thor had to hold the goddess back.

Yui sweat dropped, this was going to turn into a war zone if no one stopped them.

The door behind her suddenly flew open and slammed into the wall behind it which made her jump in surprise and spun around to see who just had made such a dramatic entrance. There, in the doorway, stood the most beautiful goddess Yui had ever seen. ' _Could this be-?_ ' She thought. The Greek goddess of love, Aphrodite, was dressed in a elegant white dress, her light brown and wavy hair hung over her shoulders and her golden eyes seemed to sparkle so beautifully. "Alright, I'm tired of waiting! Where is she?" Even her voice sounded beautiful, even when she was irritated. The goddess walked further into the room, she hadn't spotted Yui yet.

"Aphrodite, I told you to stay in the guest room." Zeus told his daughter. Apollon scratched his hair, not sure if he should say anything while Dionysus simply frowned at her and Hades sighed at her behaviour.

Aphrodite had stopped walking and was now standing just a little further away from Yui. Everyone seemed to be holding their breath as she slowly turned her head to the side. Their eyes met. "There she is." Aphrodite said, grinning maliciously at her.

 **Now:**

Yui didn't dare to say anything, she had never met this goddess before and the things she had heard about her didn't exactly make her more calm. ' _What should I do?_ '

She flinched when Aphrodite suddenly started walking towards her. "Aphrodite." Hades warned. Aphrodite didn't answer and just continued to walk closer to the human.

She stopped right in front of her. "So, you're the human I have heard so much about." She said, sounding amused and raised her hand towards Yui's face. At first, Yui thought that she was going to strike her and closed her eyes. Only when she felt fingertips touching her cheek lightly she dared to open her eyes again. Aphrodite was smiling at her. "You're even cuter than I expected."

' _Hah?_ '

Then, Aphrodite's expression darkened. "I guess I should mess up that pretty face of yours." She almost growled and raised her other hand.

In an instant, Yui's friends were by her side. Apollon had pushed Aphrodite away from her, Takeru and Balder were standing behind him, ready to back him up if needed and Loki had grabbed Yui from behind and pulled her towards him. Hades, Dionysus, Tsukito, Sif and Thor joined them just a second later.

Apollon narrowed his eyes at his sister. "That's enough, Dite-Dite."

It was quiet for a moment before Aphrodite let out a laugh. "I see the rumors were true after all!"

"Aphrodite, I do not tolerate this behaviour." Zeus spoke.

"Relax father, I only did that to test them. I wanted to see their reactions."

"You have only angered them, daughter. They will not allow you near her again, you understand that right?"

"Of course, I never wanted to be involved with that human female anyway. I just wanted to meet my new rival and now I have." Aphrodite turned away from Apollon and walked away. "I will return home at once."

A guard opened the door for her and once she was halfway through it, she stopped and turned around. "May you live a peaceful life, Yui." She smirked. Then she left and the guard closed the door behind her.

"Damn, what a creepy woman." Takeru shrugged.

Apollon and the others turned towards Yui. "Are you alright, Fairy? Are you alright?

"I'm alright, she just caught me by surprise." Yui answered calmly.

"That's why I don't like her." Sif almost hissed.

"Same here." Loki added as he let go of Yui.

"I must apologize for Aphrodite's behaviour, Kusanagi." Zeus spoke up. "I believe she didn't mean any harm but I'll make sure she will not do anything like that again."

"It's alright, Zeus-san." Yui assured him. "It doesn't seem like she wants to have anything to do with me, so…"

"And that's something I do not understand." Freyja spoke from her spot beside her brother and walked over to where Yui was standing. "She must be crazy for not wanting to be close to such an adorable human being. And she calls herself a goddess of love." She added and caressed Yui's cheek. Freyja was a goddess of love, too, so she could not understand why a fellow goddess would act like that.

"Hey, hey, hands off! Don't touch her like that!" Loki exclaimed and pushed away her hand.

"Like you're the one to talk." Freyja, Takeru, Balder and Dionysus uttered in unison.

"That's enough everyone." Odin spoke. "Aphrodite is not a problem anymore so I suggest you all go home for the day. Zeus and I will look through Kusanagi's ideas."

"You must be tired since you never really got your break from your friends, Yui. You should rest while you can." Frigg added.

"You make it sound like being with us are exhausting." Balder commented.

"Exactly."

* * *

When Yui opened the door to her cottage she couldn't wait to take a bath and then throw herself on her soft couch. It was nice to be home again even though she only had been away for a week. She closed the door behind her. ' _I'm glad they fixed the door, now I just have to light a fire and-_ ' Her thoughts were interrupted by a voice coming from the couch. "Hello again, Yui."

She spun around in surprise and spotted no other than Aphrodite, she was sitting comfortably on Yui's favorite spot.

"A-Aphrodite?" Yui almost exclaimed. Hadn't the goddess told everyone that she was going to return home?

Aphrodite stood up from the couch. "Relax human. I'm not going to do anything."

"But… I thought you were going home?"

"That's just something I said so that your many lovers wouldn't have to escort you wherever you went. I wanted to meet you alone without interference."

"But that's- Wait, lovers?"

"Yes, the gods you went to school with."

"Um, I don't know what you have heard but, they're not my lovers…"

Aphrodite blinked at her. "I see. It seems I jumped to conclusions. Now that I look at you, you seem way too innocent to let yourself be taken by so many powerful gods. Your body would most likely be unable to handle it, too."

Yui turned red from embarrassment. "W-What are you-?"

The goddess let out a laugh. "I guess I don't have to hurt you after all. I came here thinking that some weak human had stolen many of the most powerful gods away from me."

' _Stolen?_ '

"But now I see that their courtship of you is pointless."

' _What's she talking about?_ '

"So, which one of them are yours?"

"... What?"

"I understand that not all of them belong to you but there must be at least one you have a-" She licked her lips. "- _ **special**_ relationship with?"

Yui thought that it would be best to answer the goddess, if she didn't, it would seem suspicious and Aphrodite would most likely turn on her. "There is… no one."

"There was a pause."

"It's the truth, I don't have a special relationship with any of them. They're all my friends and they don't belong to me."

Aphrodite looked at her for a few seconds before she began to walk towards her. She thought that she was going to try and strike her again and she felt her body get tense, preparing itself for the worst. But instead, Aphrodite walked right past her and opened the door. "Nice talking with you, human. I look forward to our next meeting." She smirked and closed the door behind her, not waiting for Yui to answer.

Aphrodite's visit was brief but it was enough to make Yui feel a little more insecure around the goddess. And it only made matters worse that she wanted them to meet again, even though she had mentioned that she didn't want to have anything to do with her. Yui let a deep sigh of relief escape her mouth, realising she just escaped getting hurt or even killed thanks to her non romantic relationship with the gods. "I should stay on her good side if I don't want any trouble…" She told herself as she turned around and made her way towards the bathroom.

* * *

About 2 weeks passed and there was no sign of Aphrodite. Yui was able to relax again and Zeus was glad he didn't have to come up with a way to keep his daughter away from the human. Everything seemed to go smoothly now, too. The preparations for the island were almost done and there had been no incidents worth worrying about… yet.

Zeus and Odin were having a meeting in Asgard and had gathered a few gods to discuss a few things about the island. The gods who were seated around a long table were Zeus, Odin, Frigg, Freyr, Bragi, Balder, Thor, Hades, Apollon, the brother of Zeus and Hades who was the Greek god of the sea, Poseidon, Zeus's wife who was the Greek goddess of marriage, Hera and the Greek goddess of wisdom and war, Athena. All of these gods were important when it came to the creation of the island that would soon be the gods' most visited place.

"If we all agree, I see no reason to-" Before Zeus could finish, the door to the big room suddenly opened and a guard stepped inside, looking kind of confused and speechless.

Odin stood up from his chair to face the guard. "What's the meaning of this? We're in the middle of a meeting."

The guard bowed his head to them before he spoke. "I apologize for interrupting you like this but there's something I have to tell you and it's urgent."

"And what could that possibly be?" Hera asked.

The guard was just about to open his mouth when he suddenly felt a certain presence behind him and he quickly moved out of the way. And in walked Aphrodite. "I think he was going to tell you about this." She smiled in satisfaction at something in her arms.

Every god and goddess in the room looked at her and the thing in her arms in shock.

In her arms she carried a child, a _**human**_ child who looked no more than 1 year old. It was a Japanese boy with black hair, big brown eyes and was wearing cute, gray sweatpants and a blue sweater.

"Aphrodite!" Zeus exclaimed as he rose from his chair. "What on earth have you done? !"

"Oh my…" Frigg breathed out.

"Is that… a human _**child**_? !" Athena cried out.

"Here comes trouble…" Freyr sighed and rubbed his forehead.

"There's no need to panic, it's just a child." Aphrodite sighed.

Hera frowned her eyes at her. "A _**human**_ child, Aphrodite."

"Why have you brought him here? Where did you find him?" Bragi asked.

The child looked very confused and a bit scared as he looked around with his mouth slightly open. He was being carried by a stranger and was surrounded by people he didn't know, nor did he know where he was or how he got here. This was enough to make him want to cry but there was something about these strange people, too, that made him want to get away as quickly as possible. He got a feeling that they were dangerous and had an unusual aura surrounding them.

"I found him in Japan, he had been abandoned." Aphrodite explained.

"Abandoned?" Hades asked, not really believing her.

"Alright, not really abandoned but- He was lost, I guess."

"Aphrodite." Zeus warned.

"He was lost, alright? I was just walking around in the woods not far away from a few houses and I found him crawling around."

This time it was Apollon who spoke. "He must have wandered away when his parents weren't looking."

"Why didn't you go look for them and return him to them? He's just a little child, he couldn't have gotten that far away from his home." Frigg added.

"If the parents had loved him and actually wanted him, then they wouldn't have let him leave like that. They wouldn't have let him out of their sight."

"And now I see why I shouldn't have let you out of _**my**_ sight! Do not jump to conclusions like that." Zeus said in a dark voice.

"His parents must be worried." Thor pointed out.

"I agree, return the child at once." Poseidon ordered.

"Not going to happen, I want him." Aphrodite uttered and held the boy even closer to her body.

"Aphrodite-" Balder started.

"No."

The gods weren't being loud but the child felt that something was wrong and started to cry.

Aphrodite turned her attention to him and hugged him but he only tried to wiggle out of her arms. "There, there, sweetheart." She tried to soothe him.

"Enough. Aphrodite, take him back." Zeus told his daughter.

"No, he's mine!"

"You're being childish. You can't keep him here with us." Hera said calmly.

"And why not? We already have a human living here, why can't we have another one?"

Zeus let out a deep sigh. "Kusanagi interacted with Apollon and the others for almost a year. Thanks to her deep relationship with them I let her stay, she has done much for them so it was only fair to allow her into our world. But that does not mean we will allow any more humans here, children or not."

"I don't care! I'm not going to give him up."

The little boy was now crying even harder, these people in strange clothes scared him and he wanted to get away.

"We're scaring him." Hades pointed out.

"Human children are very intelligent, he has probably figured out there's something strange about us." Balder explained.

"Indeed. Aphrodite, I'm not asking you again, take him back to his parents." Zeus ordered.

"But-"

"It's for the best." Poseidon added and walked over to her.

"You can't take someone's child because you feel lonely, Dite-Dite." Apollon said.

Aphrodite looked up at her brother. "Lonely? Me?"

"Ares-Ares isn't back yet, is he?" He added.

"!"

"I don't understand you, Aphrodite. You have a husband who takes good care of you and you still choose to go to the war god." Frigg told the goddess.

"Mind your own business!" Aphrodite shouted.

"Give me the child." Poseidon said and raised his arms to take him. Aphrodite hesitated at first but realised it was no use fighting them, so she let Poseidon take the child away from her. But the boy didn't like this either and tried to wiggle out of his arms, too.

"Put the child down, he's only getting more scared. He might feel safer if he's away from us." Athena suggested.

Poseidon put the child down and as soon as he felt his feet against the floor he waddled away, not very fast but he was very determined to get away. When his legs couldn't carry him any longer he fell and landed on his butt but this didn't stop him from trying to escape and he continued to move away by crawling across the floor to hide behind a curtain. The gods followed his every move but when they realised he wasn't going anywhere they turned to Aphrodite once again. "Tell me exactly where you found him so we can take him back." Odin told the Greek goddess.

But Aphrodite wasn't about to cooperate. "Can't remember, don't want to remember. Good luck!" She called as she turned to leave but Poseidon grabbed her arm to stop her.

Zeus walked over to them. "You're not going anywhere until you've told us where you found him."

"Too bad, I'm not telling."

The boy behind the curtain started sobbing softly.

Zeus looked over at him before he turned to Balder. "Go find Kusanagi."

"Yes." Balder obeyed immediately and stood up from the chair and left the room.

"Why do you need her?" Freyr asked.

"She's human and know more about human children than we do. She might be able to calm him."

Meanwhile, Yui, Loki, Dionysus, Takeru and Tsukito were hanging out at Yui's place. They were playing the human game called "Twister".

"Left foot, red." Yui said and watched her friends struggle to move without falling. She couldn't help but giggle, it looked way too funny.

"That's my spot Loki! Find another one!" Takeru shouted.

Loki only laughed. "Too bad, this is my spot!"

"Next color, please! I'm winning this!" Dionysus exclaimed, clearly determined to win.

"I found a red spot for you, Totsuka Takeru." Tsukito informed his brother.

"Alright, next one is-" A knock on the door interrupted her. "Um, come in!" She called, wondering who that could be.

The door opened and Balder stepped inside, the cold wind made Dionysus shiver and he felt himself starting to lose his balance. "Don't you dare!" Loki exclaimed but it was too late and the four gods all fell to the floor. "Great…" Takeru sighed with his face against the floor.

Balder blinked at his friends on the floor before he looked up to focus on Yui. "I'm sorry to interrupt, Yui-san, but I'm afraid it's urgent."

"What's going on?" Loki asked as he tried to crawl away from underneath Dionysus.

"Zeus will explain, but you need to come with me immediately, Yui-san."

* * *

Yui and the others were running towards the room the gods were holding the meeting. "Hey, why can't you tell us what's going on?" Takeru called to Balder as they ran.

"You'll find out soon!" Balder called back.

A guard opened the door for them once they were close enough and they all entered the big room. There were more gods inside now than it was before. Apparently, many others had seen or heard that Aphrodite had brought a human child here and wanted to see for themselves. Among them were Sif, Freyja Hoenir, Tyr and Vidar. They all turned towards Yui when she entered with the others close behind.

"You wanted to see me?" Yui asked as she was trying to catch her breath.

"This caused me to lose the game, so it better be important." Dionysus pointed out.

Zeus ignored him and looked directly at Yui. "Kusanagi, I'm glad you were close by so you could get here quickly. We've had a little… incident."

In the corner of the eye she noticed movements by the curtain and turned her head to the side. A 1 year old child emerged from behind it and looked at her. Yui's eyes widened and so did Loki, Dionysus and Takeru. "Wha-?" Yui exclaimed. She could tell the child was human, she had seen god children and neither of them looked this human. "Is that-?"

The little boy started crawling towards her, apparently he could tell she was human as well and in his opinion, her aura was a lot better, too. Yui looked down at the boy in surprise as he got closer and finally reached her. His small hands grabbed her leg through the white dress she was wearing and began to pull himself up.

On instinct she bent down to pick the little boy up. The kid rubbed one of his eyes before he leaned his head against her, feeling more safe in her arms than in Aphrodite's.

"What the hell is this human child doing here?" Takeru asked.

Zeus took a seat, relieved that Yui was able to calm the child. "Let me explain. Aphrodite over there brought the child here after he had gotten lost in the woods not far away from his home."

"What?" Yui gasped and her eyes traveled to where Aphrodite was standing, between Poseidon and Frigg.

"She wants to keep him, so she won't tell us where she found him. All we know is that he was found in Japan." He added.

"I see." Yui said and caressed the boy's cheek that was red from all the crying. "So what do we do?"

The one who chose to answer her was Odin. "We were hoping that you could take care of him while we try to locate his home and parents."

Yui looked up at him in surprise. "Me?"

"It would help us a lot, the kid is scared of us but seems to be comfortable with you. Take care of him, please, just until we know where he belongs." Frigg explained.

"A-Alright, I guess I can do that." Yui answered. The boy started smiling and a happy sound escaped him as he reached for Yui's face with one of his hands and touched her cheek.

"Aww, look at the new mother!" Freyja giggled.

"F-Freyja-san!" Yui exclaimed in embarrassment.

"That's great! Fairy is going to take care of him!" Apollon laughed.

"What a bother…" Takeru sighed.

"Kusanagi Yui is going to be a good mother." Tsukito pointed out.

"G-Guys…" Yui stuttered, they weren't helping at all.

"Then that's settled." Zeus said and stood up again. "Kusanagi, take the child home with you for now."

"Right, but I'm going to need a few things."

"Anything you need."

"Diapers, a few change of clothes, including winter clothes and sleepwear, a toothbrush, shoes, a potty, toys, soft blankets, a sippy cup… and maybe a few other things."

Zeus blinked at her, for a young woman who didn't have children of her own she knew quite well what they needed. "Very well, I will make sure you get those things."

 **A/N: It's getting more and more fun to write this story ^_^ You'll get the next chapter in about 4 days!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Previously:**

"A-Alright, I guess I can do that." Yui answered. The boy started smiling and a happy sound escaped him as he reached for Yui's face with one of his hands and touched her cheek.

"Aww, look at the new mother!" Freyja giggled.

"F-Freyja-san!" Yui exclaimed in embarrassment.

"That's great! Fairy is going to take care of him!" Apollon laughed.

"What a bother…" Takeru sighed.

"Kusanagi Yui is going to be a good mother." Tsukito pointed out.

"G-Guys…" Yui stuttered, they weren't helping at all.

"Then that's settled." Zeus said and stood up again. "Kusanagi, take the child home with you for now."

"Right, but I'm going to need a few things."

"Anything you need."

"Diapers, a few change of clothes, including winter clothes and sleepwear, a toothbrush, shoes, a potty, toys, soft blankets, a sippy cup… and maybe a few other things."

Zeus blinked at her, for a young woman who didn't have children of her own she knew quite well what they needed. "Very well, I will make sure you get those things."

 **Now:**

When Yui was walking back to her cottage through the snow covered road she was holding a bag filled with the things she needed in one hand and used the other one to carry the small boy. "This surprised me a lot. I wish you were able to tell me where you live, little one." Yui smiled at the child. "And what your name is, too."

All of her friends, including Sif, Freyja and Freyr were following her. "Fairy, are you sure you'll be alright? You'll be alright, right?" Apollon asked.

"Of course she will, she's a natural." Sif commented

"You want me to carry the bag for you?" Balder asked.

"Hey, _**I**_ was going to offer my help." Freyr pointed out with a frown.

"She doesn't need your help, she has me." Loki told them.

Dionysus sighed. "I guess we can't finish the game now."

"Finish? You were the _**first**_ to fall, remember?" Takeru reminded him.

"That doesn't count, we were interrupted!"

"He lost." Loki smirked.

"He did." Tsukito agreed without hesitation.

"It was my fault, I'm sorry…" Balder apologized with his head low.

"Don't be!" Loki and Takeru laughed and patted him, a bit roughly, on the back.

Now everyone wanted to know about the game so they didn't notice that Yui had stopped walking and continued to walk right past her. Yui had put both the bag and the kid down. Apparently, the boy had wanted to play in the snow and Yui wasn't about to deny him that. The poor child had been so scared and confused before that Yui thought it would be best to try and satisfy him as much as possible while he was in her care. She wanted him to feel at ease and be able to have fun while they searched for his parents.

She watched him sit down and grab a handful of snow in one of his hands. It was alright, he wouldn't get cold for awhile. He was dressed much warmer now and he looked really cute in the small and furry coat she had borrowed for him, too. The boy's smiling face made her smile as well but she couldn't help but feel a little sad, too. "Your family must be worried sick about you…"

The boy looked up at her, giving her a sweet smile and tried to stand up.

Meanwhile, Apollon and the others were still heading for Yui's cottage. They were almost there when Freyja noticed Yui was no longer walking in front of them. "Stop!" She exclaimed dramatically.

"What's wrong?" Hades asked.

"Haven't any of you noticed that Yui-chan is no longer here?"

They all looked at her before they started to look around, trying to spot Yui. "Where the hell did she go?" Takeru asked.

"She was in front of us just a minute ago, right?" Dionysus pointed out.

Balder turned around but couldn't see her either. "How strange, I could have sworn that- Loki?"

"Is Loki-Loki gone, too?" Apollon asked in surprise.

"He can't be gone, I talked with him just before Freyja said Yui-san wasn't here anymore." Balder explained.

* * *

Loki had walked back the same way they came from and found Yui and the kid a little further down the road. She was holding both of his hands as she was trying to help him walk as steady as possible, both of them seemed to be enjoying themselves. " _There you go, nice and easy._ " He could hear Yui tell the boy.

He was smirking at her as he walked closer. The moment the goddess had told them Yui was gone he had left immediately to go look for her. It was quite surprising that none of the others had noticed him leaving, maybe it was because he was good at slipping away the moment you take your eyes off him. "There you are." He said so she would acknowledge his presence. It worked and Yui looked up at him. "You're almost as good as me at disappearing without anyone noticing."

"Ah, sorry." Yui laughed awkwardly, not letting go of the kid's hands. "I got caught up in the moment."

"I can see that." Loki grinned, he was now right in front of them and the boy looked up at him with curious eyes. "So, having fun?"

"Yes." Yui smiled and turned her gaze back to the child.

The boy then tried to turn around and said, "Up, up!"

"So you _can_ say a few words after all?" Yui giggled as she bent down to pick him up. Once he was higher up he was able to have a better look at the strange man with golden eyes.

"Something on my face, kid?" Loki asked teasingly.

The boy looked at Yui and then back at Loki.

"It's alright." Yui assured him. "Loki-san isn't dangerous."

"Riiiight." Was Loki's answer to that.

The boy threw one last look at Yui before he looked back at Loki again and held out his arms towards him. "Oh, look! I think he wants to go to you, Loki-san." Yui laughed and prepared to hand the kid over to him.

"Wha- Wait!" Loki exclaimed in surprise but it was too late, Yui was already holding the child in front of him, so he had no choice but to take him.

This was kind of awkward. Loki and the boy were both looking at each other strangely. The kid could obviously sense the difference between a magical being and a normal human but his curiosity was too strong and since the nice lady had told him it was fine, he could feel a little more calm.

"You're doing great, Loki-san!" Yui teased him.

"It's not so bad… I guess."

The boy let out a cute little laugh, he wasn't as scared of this one as he was of the strange woman who had brought him here. If the nice lady liked him, then there was no need to be scared anymore.

Loki smirked down at him. "I'll let my girl take care of you for now, little guy, but don't even think about trying to steal her away from me." He said and ruffled his hair a little, which only made the child laugh more.

"Loki-san…" Yui sighed with a smile.

Meanwhile, a little further away, the others had caught up to them. "Aww! Look at them!" Sif giggled.

"So cute!" Freyja agreed and hugged Sif from behind.

"What's so cute about that?" Freyr asked in confusion.

"Yeah, Loki is just holding the kid." Takeru added.

"They look like a family!" Both Freyja and Sif squealed with a huge smile on their faces.

A second later, Takeru, Balder and Apollon were running towards the "family" as fast as they could, Hades, Tsukito and Freyr were walking calmly and Thor, Dionysus, Sif and Freyja didn't move at all.

"Hold it right there!" Takeru shouted once they were close enough and Yui and Loki turned to look at them. "Hey, what's up?" Loki grinned at his panic-looking friends.

"What's wrong?" Yui asked innocently.

Takeru looked as if he was about to say something but was stopped by Balder. "Sorry we didn't notice you had stopped, Yui-san."

"That's right, we thought you were in front of us the whole time!" Apollon added.

By now, Hades, Tsukito and Freyr had joined them and the rest were heading their way, too. " _Way to go, Loki! You take every chance you get to be alone with her!_ " Sif praised him.

Loki smirked at her. "Of course I do."

* * *

"Wait a minute, young man!" Yui called as she ran after the kid to the door with his mittens. "You'll get cold if you go outside without these."

The boy happily held out his hands so she could put them on.

For a human, this was a pretty cold place to live in. Since Yui was now immortal her body was able to adjust quickly to the cold climate. At first, she couldn't go outside without a coat but now she could walk around in only the white dress she usually wore because she could withstand the cold to a certain degree. But if the temperature would sink any lower she would definitely freeze, she was still human after all and would never be immune to cold.

4 days had passed and the boy was still living with Yui, the others hadn't been able to locate his parents yet and as long as Aphrodite refused to tell them they just had to keep searching through all of Japan. Yui had hoped for some good news much sooner, it wasn't good for such a small child to be away from his parents for long and besides, she was starting to get used to having him around. "There we go, let's go outside now." Yui smiled and opened the door. The kid immediately wobbled out the door and Yui had to hurry outside and close the door quickly so she wouldn't lose him. He was much faster than she had thought he would be and kind of understood how he was able to sneak away without his parents noticing in the first place.

The next thing she knew they were building an igloo together. The boy had never seen this much snow in his life and seemed to enjoy it very much since Yui had to take him out at least twice a day to play. She wasn't complaining either, she liked children after all and it was fun to allow herself to play childish games to satisfy the kid.

She smiled proudly at their work once it was done and the boy clapped his hands with glee before he crawled inside the igloo. Yui, who was on her hands and knees, looked through the entrance to the igloo. The boy looked very happy as he looked around and touched the cold, white walls out of curiosity.

Further away, Loki and Balder were watching them.

"Yui-san has taken her role seriously." Balder commented.

"Yeah."

"What's the matter? You look a little down."

"It's nothing. Just disappointed I can't tease her as much as I want with the kid around."

Balder looked at his best friend with a raised eyebrow. "Is that the only reason?"

"Should there be more?"

"Loki…" Balder sighed.

Balder now had his full attention. "Hey, why do you look so disappointed?"

"You're always around Yui-san I was starting to think you want to be with her because you like her, not because she's fun to tease."

"I _**do**_ like her!"

"To what extent?"

Loki didn't answer, he just turned his head away to continue to look at Yui as she played with the kid.

"Loki." Balder tried again. "I know what you're doing, we _**all**_ do. Yui-san seems to be okay with it but the rest of us worry."

"What are you talking about, Balder?"

"The thing we worry about is that if Yui-san falls for you. She already likes you a lot, we can see that, but if that day comes… what will you do?"

"What I will- She knows I'm only teasing her!"

"You're both my friends. But if Yui-san gets hurt because of you…"

Balder didn't say anything more, he just turned around slowly and walked away.

Loki followed him with his gaze a few seconds before a familiar voice reached his ears. " _Loki-san_!" He immediately turned around when he heard who it was.

Yui was smiling brightly at him from where she was standing with the boy in front of the igloo. " _Come and see what we have built!_ "

In that moment Loki forgot all about Balder and started walking towards them. "You forgot the chimney!" He called back.

* * *

"What's the matter, Balder?" Thor asked as he walked up to him from behind.

Balder had been watching Loki, Yui and the child for over half an hour now from one of the balconies in Odin's castle. "Look at them, Thor."

Thor's eyes traveled to the three figures in the snow. The child was giggling as he watched Loki chase Yui with a snowball in his hand. When he caught up with her he dropped the ball and instead grabbed her around the waist and pulled both of them down in the snow, both laughed as they tried to get up but at the same time try and push the other one back down.

"They seem to enjoy themselves." Thor stated.

"They do."

"Then what's the matter?"

"It troubles me that Loki is only spending time with Yui-san to make us jealous."

Thor seemed untroubled. "And you believe that?"

Balder turned to look at him. "Isn't it obvious?"

Thor was quiet for a few seconds before he answered. "I trust Loki not to hurt her."

"I want to trust him, too…" Balder said in almost a whisper.

This time it was quiet for a few minutes.

"Loki is falling for her whether he likes it or not." Thor commented as he turned around to leave.

"Wha-!" Balder exclaimed but Thor was already gone. "Thor! What do you mean by that? !"

* * *

"Did you hear something, Loki-san?" Yui asked as she looked around. She could have sworn she heard Balder's voice.

"Probably just a dying animal." Loki answered. He was too busy burying the giggling human child in the snow to care.

* * *

Balder was running after Thor. "Thor, wait!

Thor stopped and turned around to face him.

"What makes you think that?" Balder asked once he was in front of him.

"Loki may think that he's only doing it for fun, but he's starting to fall for her."

"But how do you know?"

"From what I've seen and heard, it's pretty obvious."

Balder didn't say anything after that, he just stared at Thor in surprise. If he was right, then he was the only one who had figured it out.

"When you're quiet like me and don't take up so much space, you have time to observe in peace."

Balder was stunned, Thor usually didn't talk this much. He was more used to his friend's short answers. "Thor…"

"See you later, Balder." Thor said with a small smile as he turned around to walk away. "I'm going to meet Sif now."

Balder followed Thor with his gaze until he disappeared around a corner. Once everything had sunk in, Balder started smiling. ' _I hope you're right, Thor. I also hope Yui-san's feelings won't get hurt if Loki doesn't realise his own feelings for her in time._ '

* * *

Odin was sitting on his fur-covered throne and seemed to be in deep thought. Something was bothering him and he didn't know why.

"Is something troubling you, dear?" Frigg asked her husband. She was sitting by a big and round table just a little further away from him with a cup of tea in her hand.

"I have a feeling something bad is about to happen." Odin sighed and rubbed his forehead. Hugin and Munin, who were standing on the armrest, croaked at their master's distress.

"And what could that be?"

"I don't know… yet."

"Do you think it's about the human boy?"

"No, it's not that. However, it is bad we haven't found where he belongs yet."

Frigg put the cup down. "Yui is doing a good job taking care of him but I do agree with you, the child needs to be reunited with his family as quickly as possible."

"Hoenir and Tyr are in Japan right now. They said they wouldn't return until they have found them."

"Maybe we should contact Zeus and ask him to send Aphrodite back here? She knows where he lives and we have to get it out of her."

The one eyed god sighed. "Aphrodite is playing a game with us, she didn't get what she wanted so now she's making us pay for it. She won't tell us a thing, so bringing her here would be pointless."

"You're right, her pride would never allow it… But Yui can't take care of the child forever either."

"Indeed."

"Let's just hope those two are able to locate the parents." Frigg said and took a sip of her tea. "Anyway, if it's not the child you're concerned about, then what could it be? You should trust your instincts when you feel that something isn't right."

A second later, before Odin could answer his wife, someone knocked on the door to the throne room, causing him to snap out of his thoughts.

"Enter!" He called, loud enough for the person behind the door to hear.

The door opened, revealing a guard dressed in a armor. "I'm sorry to disturb you my king but I'm afraid I have some disturbing news."

 **A/N: Wohoo! I'm already at chapter 10! :D About 4 days until next chapter! Have a nice day!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Previously:**

"Maybe we should contact Zeus and ask him to send Aphrodite back here? She knows where he lives and we have to get it out of her."

The one eyed god sighed. "Aphrodite is playing a game with us, she didn't get what she wanted so now she's making us pay for it. She won't tell us a thing, so bringing her here would be pointless."

"You're right, her pride would never allow it… But Yui can't take care of the child forever either."

"Indeed."

"Let's just hope those two are able to locate the parents." Frigg said and took a sip of her tea. "Anyway, if it's not the child you're concerned about, then what could it be? You should trust your instincts when you feel that something isn't right."

A second later, before Odin could answer his wife, someone knocked on the door to the throne room, causing him to snap out of his thoughts.

"Enter!" He called, loud enough for the person behind the door to hear.

The door opened, revealing a guard dressed in a armor. "I'm sorry to disturb you my king but I'm afraid I have some disturbing news."

 **Now:**

"What is it?" Odin urged the guard, hoping he was holding the answer to what was causing him discomfort.

"My king, my queen." The guard began. "Sisyphus is back."

* * *

"Loki-san, I think he's getting cold." Yui smiled awkwardly. Only the boy's head was sticking up from the snow.

"Perhaps I overdid it." Loki admitted, he was still grinning though.

"I should take him inside now." Yui said as she sat down in the snow to dig him out. "I don't want him to catch a cold."

"He'll be fine, the kid loves the snow."

"It doesn't matter if he loves it or not, he can still catch a cold."

"Are all human children weak to cold? If he was immortal like me it would have taken a lot more than this to make him sick."

"Well, all humans get cold but children are more sensitive to it, yes. I thought it was very cold too when I first came here, remember?"

"Yeah, but now it doesn't look like you feel cold at all."

"That's only because I was granted immortality, I'm able to handle the cold better now."

"I wouldn't have minded you being cold, though."

"Huh? Why?"

"Because then I could use my body to warm you up my little kitten!" Loki laughed.

"... J-Just help me dig him out…" Yui blushed.

"Huh? You're not going to argue?"

"..."

Loki's eyes started shining. "You really _**do**_ want me to warm you up don't you!"

"L-Loki-san!"

"Don't worry, I'll be all yours once the kid is gone!"

"Wha-! N-No Loki-san! I-I didn't mean-!"

Loki only laughed at her reaction.

"Please just help me get him out of the snow already!"

* * *

The boy was sitting on Yui's couch with a sippy cup in his hands and a blanket wrapped around his body and was smiling in satisfaction.

"He seems comfortable." Loki commented.

"Saved by the warm blanket." Yui added. "I'm going to make some tea, would you like some?"

Loki sat down next to the boy and smiled childishly. "Yes, please!"

Yui giggled at his behaviour and walked inside the kitchen to prepare tea for the two of them. ' _It kind of feels like we're a family._ ' She thought with a smile as she waited for the water to heat up. But she knew it was only wishful thinking, a future with Loki just seemed too far away right now, even if they had made progress in their growing relationship. Sure, he was spending more time with her than he had in the beginning, but that could as well be because he was trying to make the others even more jealous than they already were.

 **Flashbacks:**

" _Let's have dinner together when you get back."_

" _There's no way I'm going to let you go to sleep cold tonight. You're staying with me."_

" _You're not going to send her away to some island_ _ **alone**_ _, are you?"_

" _Wohoo Kitten! Undressing the moment you see me? I feel flattered!"_

" _I'm definitely not missing a single adventure with you, my dear Kitten."_

" _Balder can handle her, I'm more interested in hanging out with you."_

" _Only because I was lonely without you."_

" _But that's_ _ **my**_ _Kitten you just tainted with those dirty lips of yours."_

" _Hey, hey, hands off! Don't touch her like that!"_

" _Don't worry, I'll be all yours once the kid is gone!"_

 **End of flashbacks:**

Yui sighed to herself, why did his words affect her so? She walked out of the kitchen with two cups in her hands but what she saw made a small gasp escape her lips. The boy was no longer sitting on the couch, instead he was in Loki's lap and his eyes were closed as he was leaning against his warm body. "That's something I didn't expect." Yui giggled and placed one of the cups on the table in front of the fire god.

"He looked cold… I guess." Loki explained, his cheeks a little red, and took the cup and brought it to his lips.

Yui sat down beside them. "That's right, you're able to warm him with your powers."

Loki placed the cup on the table again and threw her a grin. "I can warm you too if you want."

"Thanks, but I'm fine."

 _ ***Knock, knock, knock***_

Their heads turned towards the door. "Come in!" Yui called.

The door opened.

Yui looked at the god who had just entered in surprise. "Vidar-san?"

"Yui-san, Loki." Vidar greeted. "Odin and Zeus are gathering everyone, you have to come with me."

"Again? Those two sure like to gather people nowadays." Loki commented.

"It's important." Vidar explained.

"We're coming." Yui told Vidar without hesitation and stood up from the couch. Of course she knew the two rulers wouldn't gather them all if it wasn't something serious.

* * *

On their way to Odin's castle they noticed that a lot of gods and goddesses, including ones from Greece and Japan, were heading the same way.

"Damn, it's going to be crowded in there." Loki complained. He was carrying the human kid with one arm, who by the way looked a little uneasy. He was already used to Loki but was still wary of other magical beings.

"If we are that many, then it must really be something important they have to say." Yui pointed out from between Loki and Vidar.

"Stay close Yui-san, we don't want to lose you in there." Vidar told her with his usual calm voice.

"Yes." She answered and turned to Loki. "And please don't lose him either, Loki-san."

"I'm carrying him, where could he possibly go?"

Once they were inside the throne room they managed to find all of their friends, standing in a circle, somewhere in the sea of gods. "Everyone!" Yui called as they made their way towards them.

"Fairy!" Apollon called back when he spotted her together with Loki and Vidar.

"You all came, too?" Loki asked, not sounding very surprised.

"Yes, it was important that we all came." Dionysus answered.

"We've been here since forever, what's taking them so long?" Takeru asked, obviously irritated.

"Totsuka Takeru, we just arrived a few minutes ago." Tsukito pointed out.

"Do any of you know what is going on?" Balder asked.

"We all had to stop what we were doing and come here immediately, that's all I know." Sif replied.

"And that's not always easy to do…" Freyr added.

"Indeed." Hades agreed.

Apollon decided to change the subject. "So, Fairy, how are things going with the child? How is it going?"

"Yes, I see he's still with you. No luck finding his parents?" Dionysus asked, looking at the boy Loki was carrying.

"Things are good but sadly, yes, we haven't found them yet. But I heard Hoenir-san and Tyr-san are looking for them right now." Yui explained.

"Speaking of those two, do you think the message has reached them?" Balder asked. "If not, they're going to miss what Odin and Zeus have to say."

"I will inform them if they won't make it." Vidar assured them.

A deep voice stopped anyone from uttering another word.

"Thank you all for being able to come here on such a short notice but I'm afraid something very serious has occurred." Zeus explained to the crowd.

"Just a little earlier I had a feeling something bad was about to happen and those feelings were confirmed when I was informed what was really happening, so I contacted Zeus and it turned out that he too had just found out about this important matter. We decided to gather you all immediately to inform you about the danger." Odin spoke.

No one dared to say anything, instead they waited patiently for an explanation.

Zeus closed his eyes. "Sisyphus is back."

More than half of the crowd gasped when they heard what Zeus just said. They hadn't heard that name for hundreds of years and yet, they recognized it immediately.

' _Sisyphus?_ ' Yui thought. She had no idea who that was and glanced at her friends to see their reactions.

Zeus spoke again. "For those who haven't heard of him, let me explain. A very long time ago Sisyphus was once the human king of Ephyra in Greece. He wasn't a very good king and had a reputation of killing his guests without reason, so we decided to punish him for his actions but he was sly and managed to escape from every punishment we gave him. He was able to trick us on a few occasions but luckily we were able to catch him again. So, as punishment for his trickery, king Sisyphus was made to endlessly roll a huge boulder up a steep hill and was told that if he managed to get the boulder to stay on top of the hill without it rolling back down again, he would be set free."

Odin continued for him. "But then, hundreds of years ago, something we never thought was possible happened." He then turned to Hades and everyone followed his gaze to the god of the underworld.

Hades nodded in Odin's direction and began to explain. "One day when I went to check on him, all I could see was the boulder on top of the hill and Sisyphus was gone."

' _So he was actually able to do it?_ ' Yui thought in disbelief as she looked at Hades.

"But the story doesn't end there." Zeus continued. "No one noticed when he was released from his punishment and didn't expect it either, so before he fled he stole an amulet. An amulet which turned him into an ice demon, not a god. He covered half of Mount Olympus in ice before he disappeared and was never seen again."

"And now he was spotted somewhere not far away from here." Odin finished. "We need you all to keep your eyes open and report to us immediately if you see him. He's very dangerous and needs to be captured."

The room was so quiet you could hear a needle fall. But that didn't last for very long before everyone in the room started discussing and argue with each other about this matter. Yui began to feel uneasy and as if on instinct she turned to Loki. "Loki-san." She whispered. Every god and goddess had powers to protect themselves with but she was human and would have to rely on her friends to protect her if she were to bump into this Sisyphus person-human-demon-thing. But it wasn't just her, she feared for the boy's safety as well.

Loki looked down at her as if he knew what was going on in her head.

"Do you know what he is after?" An unknown god asked.

"We do not I'm afraid but he might as well be back for revenge." Zeus answered him.

"Wait, I've got an idea!" Another god Yui didn't know spoke up.

"Speak." Odin ordered.

"Why not let our human talk to him?"

The room got very quiet as everyone stared at the god who had just suggested the crazy idea.

"Are you referring to Kusanagi?" Zeus asked, frowning at him.

Yui's eyes widened and her friends looked like they would attack the god for even suggesting such a thing. "No way in hell!" "Forget it!" "No way, no way!" Takeru, Loki and Apollon exclaimed.

"Calm yourselves." Odin spoke before he turned his attention back to the other god. "Why?"

"Sisyphus was once human, right? Kusanagi was the only one who was able to look after the human child the right way, she could do it because she knows humans better than anyone here. If she was able to calm the little boy down, then perhaps she can do the same with Sisyphus? That way we can avoid unnecessary conflicts with him."

"I will not allow it!" Loki shouted in the stupid god's direction and handed Yui the boy.

"Loki-san?" Yui whispered as she took the stressed child and held him close.

"I don't know how you came up with such a stupid idea but sending Yui to her death is out of the question!" Loki yelled as he took a few steps towards him.

"Why the hell not? It's worth a shot is it not? A small sacrifice."

His statement made most of the crowd see red, especially Yui's closest friends. " _ **Sacrifice! ?**_ " Freyr and Takeru exclaimed in both anger and shock.

But before her friends could say anything else, the gods and goddesses inside the crowd surprised them by uttering exactly what was on their minds. "She's not a sacrifice!" "Have you forgotten the human is one of us now?" "You don't sacrifice one of your own!" "Throw him out of here!" "She's a good human." "I like her, many of us do." "Where is your pride as a god? !" "Shame on you!" "Let's sacrifice _**you**_ instead!"

The shouts continued to echo through the throne room. "Everyone…" Yui said quietly, feeling honored that so many stood up for her. Many of the ones who spoke she had only met a few times or only knew her by name and they still wanted to defend her.

"Enough!" Odin told the crowd in a loud voice.

"We will not send Kusanagi to meet Sisyphus, he's not going to listen to her just because she's human. If anything, he's going to try and kill her." Zeus explained.

Loki, who had been staring holes into the foolish god the entire time, turned around and walked back to Yui and placed an arm around her shoulders. His eyes traveled back to the unknown god. "If you want to use her you'll have to go through me first."

"And us." Apollon added and took a step towards them together with the rest of their friends.

Odin and Zeus watched them with interest when the door suddenly flew open and everyone almost jumped, preparing themselves to fight if it was Sisyphus who had made an entrance.

Thankfully it wasn't.

Odin immediately recognized who they were. "Hoenir, Tyr, you're back."

"We heard on our way back that Sisyphus has reappeared and came as fast as we could." Tyr informed them.

"On your way back…" Frigg repeated his words. "Does that mean…?"

"Yes." Hoenir answered. "We have located the parents."

It suddenly felt like a fog had lifted.

Yui let out a sigh of relief and when she looked up again she saw that Hoenir was heading her way. When he stopped in front of her he handed her a note. "The address, Yui-sama."

Yui took a look at the note and then smiled down at the boy who she was now holding with one arm. "Hear that, little guy? You can go home now."

The boy looked up at her and seemed to understand what she had meant and threw her a big smile. "I'm going to miss you though." She smiled sadly.

"My king!" A guard screamed as he ran inside the room together with a female guard. "Sisyphus has been spotted!"

"What? Where? !"

"Near the mountains about 5 miles from here!"

"You who can fight, follow us!" Zeus shouted as he and Odin hurried to follow the two guards out the door. Warrior gods immediately followed but so did many others who had experience in fighting, even those who hadn't wanted to prove their worth.

It didn't take long before most of the gods had left. "I'm going, too." Hades said and prepared to leave. If they managed to catch Sisyphus then he needed to be there and take him back to the underworld with him. "We're going with you, Hades-san!" Dionysus called and together with Takeru, Tsukito, Freyr, Sif and Thor he followed after his uncle. Only Loki, Balder, Apollon and Freyja seemed a little reluctant to go. None of them were looking Yui in the eye but she knew exactly what was going on. "You should go as well." She told them. "I'll be fine."

"But Yui-san…" Balder began.

"I'll go to Japan right away. Now when we know where the boy's family is I can take him there. And besides, I'll probably be more safe in the human world, right? So you don't have to worry about me."

"Are you sure, sweetheart?" Freyja asked, still feeling quite unsure.

"Go." Yui smiled at them. "I'll be alright."

"Alright Fairy, be careful and we'll see you later." Apollon smiled back at her.

"Let's go." Freyja urged and headed for the door with Apollon and Balder close behind.

Loki didn't move.

"Loki-san?"

He didn't look at her, instead he placed a hand on top of her head. "I'll be back."

Yui started blushing but she still smiled sweetly at him. "Be careful."

"...Yeah."

Then he was gone and Yui was left alone in the throne room with the kid.

* * *

Yui was letting the kid walk on his own, taking their time as they headed for her cottage. She knew she had to part with him eventually, he didn't belong here, he belonged with his family on earth. She let out a small sigh, cursing herself for really starting to like the boy.

He was walking a little bit ahead of her, stopping a little now and then to pick up some snow into his tiny hands. Yui smiled down at him, also stopping whenever he did. The streets were empty, most of the gods had went with Odin and Zeus to go look for the ice demon and those who hadn't were inside their homes. That was something she had to do as well, go inside. "Come on kid, let's get you home." She told him as she picked him up, she couldn't waste any more time.

The road she was following wasn't covered in snow anymore so it was much easier to walk on, everything else around it was still covered in a thick layer of snow though.

Once they were inside her warm cottage she put the kid down and sat down on her knees to help him remove his jacket, he needed to change into the clothes he was wearing the day Aphrodite found him, but before she could, she noticed he was staring at something. "What is it?" She asked and looked to the side to see what he was looking at.

Her eyes traveled to a tall figure by the doorway to her bedroom.

Her eyes widened. There stood a man, no, a demon with white and almost shiny skin, he was dressed in only a black loincloth and in his hand he was holding a staff of some kind and it looked like it was made of ice. The top of the staff looked uncomfortably sharp, just like his white claws. His hair not only looked like ice taps but it was literally made of ice as well, his green eyes were the only things that looked human.

Yui slowly stood back up and moved so that she was blocking the boy from the demon's eyes. She didn't dare to utter a word though, she knew exactly who it was who was in front of her.

After a short moment of silence she finally spoke. "Sisyphus… right?"

The ice demon stared at her for a few seconds before his mouth turned into a grin and when he opened it to speak she could clearly see that he had fangs instead of normal teeth. "Yui… right?"

 **A/N: And so it begins ;) 3 days until next chapter!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Previously:**

Once they were inside her warm cottage she put the kid down and sat down on her knees to help him remove his jacket, he needed to change into the clothes he was wearing the day Aphrodite found him, but before she could, she noticed he was staring at something. "What is it?" She asked and looked to the side to see what he was looking at.

Her eyes traveled to a tall figure by the doorway to her bedroom.

Her eyes widened. There stood a man, no, a demon with white and almost shiny skin, he was dressed in only a black loincloth and in his hand he was holding a staff of some kind and it looked like it was made of ice. The top of the staff looked uncomfortably sharp, just like his white claws. His hair not only looked like ice taps but it was literally made of ice as well, his green eyes were the only things that looked human.

Yui slowly stood back up and moved so that she was blocking the boy from the demon's eyes. She didn't dare to utter a word though, she knew exactly who it was who was in front of her.

After a short moment of silence she finally spoke. "Sisyphus… right?"

The ice demon stared at her for a few seconds before his mouth turned into a grin and when he opened it to speak she could clearly see that he had fangs instead of normal teeth. "Yui… right?"

 **Now:**

Yui could not believe her eyes, in front of her, inside her home, stood the one everyone was out looking for! She knew she had unintentionally walked into a very dangerous situation. "What do you want?" She dared to ask.

Sisyphus laughed and moved to the side. "I wonder… " He sat down in the couch and didn't say anything more.

Yui was starting to think of a plan to escape but before she could even come up with one Sisyphus raised his left hand and fired a ball of energy at them. Yui quickly jumped to the side, intentionally shoving the kid out of harm's way as she did. The two of them fell to the floor but Yui managed to catch the boy in her arms, shielding him from the impact as her own body hit the floor.

She felt the air escape her lungs when she hit the ground and she had to take a deep breath before she could pull herself and the boy up from the cold floor. The kid was crying now but she didn't have time to get her arms around him to pick him up before Sisyphus suddenly stood right in front of her, trapping her between himself and the wall.

The boy, now scared out of his mind, slowly moved away from them but his crying eyes never left the lady who had taken care of him for the last few days.

It was no use trying to escape now, the blast from earlier had proven Sisyphus was indeed very dangerous and wasn't about to let them get away and in the corner of her eye she saw the damage his power had caused when she had jumped to the side to escape it. The door was covered in a thick layer of blue ice, if it had hit them they would have died for sure. There was no way she could resist the cold from ice covering her entire body.

"Stupid woman, I noticed right away you were thinking of a plan to escape." Sisyphus informed calmly. He was so close to her she was now able to see the round and shiny blue amulet hanging like a necklace around his neck.

"That amulet…it's…" Yui heard herself whisper.

Sisyphus grinned at her. "So, they have told you about me. Then you should know that I was once human like you."

"..."

"I have heard about you as well, Yui, and I should tell you that I'm not pleased. You see, I escaped the gods' punishments for two reasons. First, I wanted to live, forever to be exact. And second, I wanted to be a god like them so I could live on Mount Olympus with Zeus and be surrounded by gorgeous goddesses for all eternity. I thought that they would eventually think of me as a very cunning man and admire me for it, grant me immortality and make me a god like them. I thought they _**needed**_ someone like me but instead they sent me down to Hades in the underworld and made me roll that huge boulder up a steep hill over and over again. As the years passed I was beginning to think that it was over for me but then I remembered something they had told me, that I would be free if I could make the boulder stay on top of the hill. So I continued to try, never losing hope. I could feel myself getting stronger every time I rolled the boulder up the hill and finally, _**finally**_ , the boulder stopped moving. It didn't roll back down again and I was free! Free to do what I wanted with my life! But… I knew that now when my punishment was over I would have to age like any other human. I had been in the underworld for so long I wouldn't have anything to come back to down on earth, I would be alone, I would get old and my muscles I was so proud of would disappear in time. Then it hit me, if I could somehow find something, anything, that belonged to the gods, then perhaps I could use it to make myself one of them. Since they hadn't noticed I had escaped I was able to move freely for a while on Mount Olympus until I found this amulet in a room that was sealed away. No god would have been able to reach it but I was no god, I was human, and I could open the door to the room with ease. I then stole the amulet, knowing it must be powerful since it was sealed away and forced it to turn me into the one thing I always wanted to be."

"But it didn't work, right? It turned you into something else…"

"That's right, it turned me into a demon, an ice demon. It doesn't matter though, I was immortal and became very powerful. That was good enough for me and before I left I used the staff the amulet had granted me and froze at least half of Olympus. They never saw me again after that."

"Then, why have you come back? You were free weren't you? "

"I wasn't planning to, Yui. Someone sought me out."

"What?"

"I didn't think it was possible, I was well hidden in my ice castle very far away from Mount Olympus after all. I guess rumors must have spread over the years and someone was bound to see me eventually. Anyway, someone found my castle and went inside to meet me and told me everything about you."

"You have come… for me?"

"Bingo! I have come for your life, little human." He was smirking now. He adjusted his hold on the staff and pointed it at her throat with the sharp edge almost touching her skin. "Why were you granted immortality and not me? Zeus was the one who decided, right? He made you immortal!"

"P-Please…"

The boy covered his eyes with his hands in fear.

"Why? Because you were a friend of a few gods ? ! Because you begged them to let you stay with them? !" Sisyphus's eyes were now glowing red and the sharp edge of the staff was now touching Yui's throat. "Sisyphus, please listen!"

His eyes stopped glowing as he calmed down. "Now it's my turn to deliver a punishment." He smirked and moved the staff away from her throat and down towards her chest. He only had to pull the fabric of her dress down less than one inch to reach the spot he wanted, her heart.

Yui's eyes widened. He was going to stab her, right through her heart!

When the sharp edge made contact with her skin she felt a cold sensation pass through her body and she had to close her eyes since she didn't want to see herself get stabbed. Sisyphus pressed the edge slowly through her skin and Yui started to feel like she was breaking, it hurt so much but it still wasn't deep enough to kill her yet. This was not how she wanted things to end, she wanted to stay by her friends forever. She had begged them to let her stay with them and when Zeus had granted her wish she was both happy and relieved she didn't have to part with the people who meant so much to her and she was even more happy when she found out she could actually be useful to them. She thought she had a future here and now Sisyphus was taking her life away from her, forcing her to leave her loved ones behind. What would they do when they found out she had been killed by the man they were out looking for? Would they blame themselves? Yui knew her friends very well and they definitely would… Tears threatened to fall as she thought about them. If this was the end then she at least wanted to say goodbye, her soul would never be able to rest in peace if she left them behind like this!

' _No!_ '

The staff suddenly started glowing and the demon removed it from her.

Yui opened her eyes slowly when she felt it being pulled out of her, he wasn't going to kill her?

"Killing you like this would be too easy, you're not a god, just immortal." Sisyphus pointed out. "I want to see you suffer before you die a slow and cold death."

Yui's eyes traveled down to where he had stabbed her and gasped at what she saw. The hole he had made in her skin wasn't bleeding, instead a small patch of ice with the shape of a snowflake covered the hole over her heart and she could feel her body slowly getting cold.

"It won't be long before you freeze to death, that patch of ice will spread both outside and inside your body."

Yui was too shocked to say anything and her eyes never left the ice covering her skin.

"Let's make this clear, I want you dead but I'm still going to give you a chance to cure yourself, that's fair right? Show me you deserve immortality, but know this…" Sisyphus said as he turned away from her and walked over to the little boy and picked him up. The kid struggled to get away but it was no use and more tears began to roll down his already wet cheeks. "If your so called friends find out about this, then this little human boy will be killed, got it?"

Yui immediately forgot about the ice and pushed herself away from the wall she was leaning on. "Let him go!"

Less than a second later she was back against the wall, Sisyphus was in front of her again with the kid in his free arm and the staff he was holding was stuck in the wall, dangerously close to her head. "Tell them this, you went to the human world and delivered the child like you were supposed to."

He then removed the staff from the wall, turned around and walked towards the door.

"Please, please don't take him!" Yui cried after him.

Sisyphus touched the blue ice that covered the door with his staff and it instantly melted. "Oh, and one more thing. The kid will only be set free if you can find my castle without anyone's help, but before that you will have to find a way to heal yourself. And, not only will I kill the kid if anyone finds out about your condition but the ice will begin to spread much faster through your body and you will die almost instantly. In short, both you and the kid will die if you're unable to come to my castle to fetch him. He dies if you die, remember that."

Sisyphus's body began to glow as if he prepared himself to teleport. "And don't even think about trying to fool me in some way, with that curse I put on you you and I are connected, if anyone finds out… I will know."

"Stop!" Yui cried and threw herself towards the demon and the crying child but they both disappeared right in front of her eyes before she could reach them.

She just stood there for a moment, staring at the spot where the ice demon had been standing just seconds before.

Her heart suddenly felt very heavy and she slowly dropped to the floor.

* * *

Zeus and many other gods and goddesses had followed the male and female guards to the mountains and were forced to split up to search for the demon who was once human. They had to be prepared for anything since he was not the same man he was so many years ago, if he did not surrender they would have to fight him. "You two, where exactly did you see him?"

"We didn't see him, Zeus-sama, a wandering woman told us." The female guard answered him.

"This caught Odin's attention. "A woman? Who?"

"We met her just a little further away from the castle, my king. She told us that on her way there she saw some creature with a staff near these mountains. His hair looked like ice taps and he was only wearing a black loincloth. That's how she described him."

"How did she look like?" Zeus asked.

"She was dressed in a black cloak but the hood was covering half of her face so we were only able to see her mouth."

A guard walked up to Odin. It was the guard who had first informed him about Sisyphus's return. "My king, that sounds like the same woman who informed me."

"You didn't see him yourself?"

"No, my king. The woman didn't tell me where but she said she had spotted the demon somewhere nearby."

"I see." Odin answered the guard. "It must definitely be the same woman you met."

Zeus thought for a moment as his eyes traveled to his followers who were searching the area. Among them were Yui's friends.

"I don't get it." Freyr said as he walked over to Hoenir, Thor, Dionysus and Hades. "Why would Sisyphus come to Asgard? He has no connections here."

"Perhaps you have something he wants?" Dionysus replied.

Hoenir raised an eyebrow at him. "And what would that be? If he wanted something then he would have come for it a long time ago. No one has seen him for hundreds of years and all of a sudden he appears in a place like this? It just doesn't make any sense."

"Something must have happened for him to come out of hiding." Hades said mostly to himself as he seemed to be thinking hard about something.

A moment later, Loki, Balder, Sif, Apollon and Tsukito came into view. "We haven't found him yet, have you seen anything?" Balder asked.

"Only snow and ice…" Dionysus sighed.

"This is a waste of time, we should go back already." Loki pointed out.

"What's the matter? Worried about your little human?" Hoenir asked him teasingly.

"Hoenir, don't." Freyr warned.

"Why? I'm just asking the prankster a simple question. I'm worried about Yui-sama too you know."

"What if I am?" Loki said to Hoenir with a serious look in his eyes.

The others hadn't expected that. "Loki…" Balder almost whispered.

Loki continued. "She's a friend is she not? Of course I'm worried about the defenseless kitten."

Hoenir crossed his arms and smirked. "A friend, huh? Is that all she is to you?"

" _He's nowhere to be seen._ " The group heard Tyr inform Zeus and Odin a little further away. Takeru, Freyja and Vidar were with him. " _I asked the other groups if they had seen anything unusual but none of them had. It's as if Sisyphus was never here._ "

" _Gather everyone, Tyr. We're going back._ " Odin ordered.

" _Yes, my king._ "

Apollon ran up to them, the others followed close behind. "What is going on?"

"We haven't been out here for that long, he might as well be hiding in a cave or something." Balder stated.

"Zeus." Hades said. He was looking troubled. "I have a bad feeling about this."

Zeus turned to him and nodded. "This was a setup."

* * *

Yui took deep breaths as she was looking for something in her wardrobe that could hide that patch of ice that was placed on her body by Sisyphus. She had been dressed in normal human clothes many times before but after some time she knew her friends and everyone else would start wondering since she never walked around in them for many days in a row. In the world of the gods, everyone had their own specific clothing they usually wore, it was part of their identity and that white dress of hers was a big part of _**her**_ identity.

She shook her head. ' _I must keep this a secret and find a way to cure myself so I can rescue the boy!_ ' Her hand moved to touch the cold spot over her heart. ' _I don't know how much time I've got though…_ ' She was feeling quite normal, for now anyway. When Sisyphus had cursed her she had been feeling cold but now it seemed like she was back to normal. Guess it would take a while until it would start spreading.

But then, a sensation of something cutting her made her think otherwise. She fell to her knees and held a hand over her heart. The ice was spreading already and it hurt like hell, like a knife cutting through the layers of your skin but without drawing blood and instead leave a trail of ice behind it as it went. ' _This… isn't good…_ '

The pain didn't really disappear after the ice stopped spreading either. It would be like walking around with an open wound forever, until she dropped dead anyway. Sisyphus really wanted her to suffer, he had no intention of letting her live and would most likely make it obvious to others that there was something wrong with her so that he could kill her and the kid as quickly as possible.

She couldn't let that happen.

She rose to her feet and tried to ignore the pain. She then took out a white sweater and blue jeans from the wardrobe.

" _ **Yui.**_ " A voice echoed inside her head and she immediately stopped what she was doing. "Sisyphus?"

" _ **I see you are able to hear me.**_ "

"What do you want?"

" _ **I was just going to tell you something important, do you want to hear it?**_ "

"Please just let the child go."

He ignored her. " _ **Listen closely. As you may have noticed the ice has started to spread and you will have to find a cure quick if you don't want you and the kid to die.**_ "

"I know that already… You made it **very** clear."

" _ **But no one can find out about it and it's impossible for you to do it on your own, so you will have to seek help from other mythological beings. The ones who have no connections to the most known gods and live in solitude, far away from civilization. The ones who have no intentions of taking any contact with others and roam the earth like ghosts.**_ "

"..."

" _ **You will find these creatures in places where no one ever goes. Remember, they are not like the gods and goddesses you have met. Some of these beings are like walking curses… like you are now.**_ "

"... Why are you telling me this? You want me dead, right?"

" _ **Yui, Yui, Yui… Killing you would be no fun, not without having you endure a little torture and a few tests first. You see, I enjoy watching my victims fight for survival before I end their lives.**_ "

"!"

" _ **Good luck, Yui. I look forward to see what dangers you might run into while trying to stay alive. Have fun with the outcasts!**_ "

The connection broke and Yui was no longer able to hear his voice inside her head.

"Finding creatures that might kill me before the demon can?" Yui asked herself, feeling both frustrated and scared, as she took off her dress to change into the clothes she found hanging in the wardrobe. "But I have to try… If I give up now I will drag an innocent child down with me."

Once she was dressed she walked out of the bedroom and into the livingroom. ' _Some of the books Odin-san gave me when I moved here are about the gods and creatures of this world. Perhaps I'm able to find some useful information in one of them?_ '

Sadly, none of her books contained the information she needed. She only found a few names but nothing more. "There's a library inside the castle with books from both the humans and the gods' worlds, I should go there." She told herself and headed for the door.

When she stepped outside she was feeling more cold than she usually did, it was as if her body was slowly beginning to lose it's ability to block the cold. It wasn't so bad yet but she could definitely feel the difference from before she got cursed and now. It scared her, it scared her a lot and what made matters worse was that she couldn't tell any of her friends about it. She wanted to live and she definitely didn't want the boy to die, so the only things she could do were to keep her mouth shut, act normal and cure herself. Which was easier said than done. Her friends would most likely lose their minds if she died… She couldn't do that to them!

Feeling motivated she headed towards the castle.

* * *

A cloud of gods covered the sky as they flew towards their homes, scanning the area around them in hope to find the ice demon. "I can't believe we fell for it." Takeru muttered.

"Let's just hope nothing has happened." Zeus said in a deep voice.

"Indeed." Odin agreed. "And we need to find that woman as well. If she gave us the wrong information on purpose then she might as well be working with Sisyphus. We can make her lead us to him."

The gods muttered among themselves, trying to figure out why Sisyphus had chosen today of all days to return. What was he after exactly?

"If this indeed was a setup and Sisyphus is somewhere in the village, then I will need your help to somehow seal his powers long enough for me to drag him down to the underworld. Once he's imprisoned down there he won't be able to escape." Hades explained.

"Got it, uncle!" Apollon called and gave him thumbs up.

"We've got your back!" Balder added.

"Yeah, now let's find the little ice princess before he causes some serious damage!" Takeru shouted.

"He's probably long gone by now anyway." Loki stated.

Tsukito, who usually didn't talk much, spoke up. "Kusanagi Yui is in the human world, right?"

"Of course, she told us she was going there." Apollon answered.

"She's safe over there, Tsukito." Sif assured him.

"..."

Takeru took a good look at his face and noticed he was actually frowning. "Brother?"

"Something wrong?" Dionysus asked.

Freyja didn't like his silence. "Hey, the quiet one, what's with the strange face?"

"What if Kusanagi Yui is back already and has run into Sisyphus?"

The others' eyes widened at Tsukito's theory. They hadn't thought of that. They had just assumed Yui was safe in the human world and never did it hit them that she might have returned already because she thought Sisyphus was somewhere near the mountains, being taken care of by all of them. "Fairy was just going to leave the child with his parents, she must have returned for sure!" Apollon panicked.

"We should have teleported ourselves back right after we found out Sisyphus wasn't there!" Takeru exclaimed.

"Instead we're wasting time!" Freyr added, he too sounded worried.

"Let's go everyone!" Balder called. "Loki, you- ...Loki?"

Loki was already gone.

 **A/N: Thanks for the reviews everyone, they keep me motivated! :D I'll give you the next chapter in about 5 days!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Previously:**

Takeru took a good look at his face and noticed he was actually frowning. "Brother?"

"Something wrong?" Dionysus asked.

Freyja didn't like his silence. "Hey, the quiet one, what's with the strange face?"

"What if Kusanagi Yui is back already and has run into Sisyphus?"

The others' eyes widened at Tsukito's theory. They hadn't thought of that. They had just assumed Yui was safe in the human world and never did it hit them that she might have returned already because she thought Sisyphus was somewhere near the mountains, being taken care of by all of them. "Fairy was just going to leave the child with his parents, she must have returned for sure!" Apollon panicked.

"We should have teleported ourselves back right after we found out Sisyphus wasn't there!" Takeru exclaimed.

"Instead we're wasting time!" Freyr added, he too sounded worried.

"Let's go everyone!" Balder called. "Loki, you- ...Loki?"

Loki was already gone.

 **Now:**

"He left!" Takeru shouted.

"And that's exactly what we should do as well." Hades stated before he too disappeared.

"Loki is worried." Thor commented and followed Hades.

Meanwhile, Yui was not wasting any time either, she was walking as fast as she could towards the castle without drawing attention to herself. If she started running people would suspect something was going on. ' _I wonder when they will be back, they must have figured out Sisyphus isn't in the mountains by now._ '

Suddenly, Loki appeared right in front of her and her body collided with his. "Uh, Loki-san?" Yui said in surprise and used her hands to push herself away from him but Loki grabbed them before she could. "Are you alright?" He asked, looking down at her with a serious facial expression.

Yui wasn't ready for this, she was used to Loki appearing out of the blue but she needed more time to prepare herself. She hadn't even figured out what she was supposed to tell him and the others without having them find out about her serious condition. "W-Why would you ask that? I'm fine." Yui answered and smiled innocently at him.

A moment later Hades and Thor appeared, closely followed by the others. "Fairy!" Apollon cried out in relief.

"Weed, you're not hurt are you?" Takeru asked, sounding very worried for once.

"Thank goodness you seem to be alright." Hades smiled at her.

"My little flower!" Freyja exclaimed. "Nothing has happened, right?"

Yui blinked at her worried-looking friends. This wasn't good, she needed to assure them she was fine. They sure had caught her by surprise. She had hoped she would at least make it inside the library before they would return, giving her more time for researching and find the right words to use when they finally found her.

Loki turned to them, not letting go of her hands and grinned. "She's fine."

They all sighed in relief, holding a hand over their beating hearts.

"That's right." Yui assured them. "Did something happen in the mountains that made you believe something had happened to me?"

She had to act like she had no idea what was going on, she had just returned from Japan, that's all.

"Yeah, Zeus believed it was a setup." Freyr spoke.

"A setup?"

"It was an unknown woman dressed in a cloak who had told the guards about Sisyphus being near the mountains." Balder explained.

"And because we couldn't find anything suspicious over there we believed the woman had lied so she could lure us away. We were worried Sisyphus was actually here instead and hurried back as fast as we could." Dionysus added. "But it seems like we worried over nothing."

"You didn't see anything unusual, did you?" Hades asked her.

"Um, no, I just returned from Japan, so…"

"That's right, you returned the kid to his parents. How did it go?" Sif asked.

Yui's face changed from cheerful to a little troubled when Sif mentioned the boy. ' _He must be scared out of his mind right now…_ '

"Kitten?"

Loki's voice brought her back to reality. "Sorry, I'm just feeling a little down. I really liked the kid you know." Yui answered the goddess with a sad smile. "But I'm also glad he's back where he belongs." ' _Good, no one will suspect anything if they believe I'm just a little sad about having to part with the boy and since I told them I just returned they won't ask about my clothes either._ ' She thought.

"We completely understand that, Yui-san." Balder smiled. "We're going to talk with Zeus and the others about what we're going to do next so why don't you take it easy for awhile?"

' _Thank you, Balder-san!_ ' Yui screamed inside her head. "I think I will do that. I was actually on my way to the library, reading usually makes me feel relaxed."

"Good idea. You'll be careful now." Apollon said cheerfully.

"Of course." She smiled back at him.

Loki removed his hands Yui was well aware of had been holding both her hands the entire time. She hadn't minded, his hands were warm and warmth was very nice for someone who was slowly getting colder. "You're a little colder than usual." He commented.

' _Oh no._ ' Yui thought. "I am? I haven't noticed."

"It's a good thing it's pretty warm inside the library." Sif pointed out.

"Really? I guess I should go then. I hope everything goes well for you and I'll be careful, promise."

"I'll visit you later, Yui-chan~" Freyja giggled.

"If you're going, so will I." Freyr said.

"Then I'm going, too." Sif smiled sweetly.

"I want to play that funny game again!" Dionysus said in excitement.

"And I'm definitely going to win!" Takeru smirked.

Loki started grinning. "No way, Kitten is going to make sure I win. Right?"

"Um, I don't know how I'm supposed to help you win the game of Twister, Loki-san… I don't think it's possible." Yui laughed nervously.

"See you later, Yui-san!" Balder called as he, Thor and Hades tried to make their friends start walking to where Zeus and Odin had gathered together with the search party.

Yui giggled as she watched her friends leave, she had never thought that Twister would be such a popular game for her friends to play. She started to think that they should find more games to play together but then she remembered why she was heading for the library in the first place and her smile disappeared. ' _If I want to play more games with them, then I better hurry._ '

* * *

"Thank you for showing me the way, I've only been there once before so I forgot the way." Yui explained to the servant who was walking beside her.

The female servant had pink hair, golden eyes and pointed ears, like Loki, and looked like a really sweet lady. "It is an honor to be of use to you, Lady Yui." Her whole face was shining as if she was really enjoying showing her around.

Her bright smile made Yui smile as well, despite the circumstances. "I really appreciate it."

A few minutes later the servant opened the big door to the huge library. "Here it is."

"Thanks again, I would still have been lost if it wasn't for you."

"Don't mention it, Lady Yui. Is there anything else I can help you with?"

"No I think I'm good, thanks anyways."

"Are you sure? I'd be happy to help you with anything you want."

"Oh, no, you don't have to do that."

"Alright… I'll be close by if you need anything."

Yui noticed she seemed a bit disappointed. "Umm, now that I think about it…"

The woman's face lit up. "Yes?"

"Well, there are some specific books I'm looking for, perhaps you could help me find them?"

"Of course!" She exclaimed and hurried inside the room together with Yui, who seemed rather confused. It really did seem like the servant wanted to be useful to her, that she was doing it because she wanted to do it and not because, as a servant, she _**had**_ to do it. "I'm so happy I get to serve Lady Yui!" She giggled to herself.

"You are?"

"Of course I am!" The woman took both of Yui's hands in hers and Yui, of course, took this moment to enjoy the warmth her hands gave her. "I've heard everything about you and what you did for Balder and the others during your time at the academy. And then you moved here and helped us make our world a better place by coming up with ideas for that new island. You're such a kind person who wants to be useful and I admire your loyalty."

Yui looked at the servant in surprise, unable to find any words to say.

"So from now on, when you decide to visit the castle, I would really like it if I could be your personal servant!"

"M-My personal-?"

"If you would allow me of course."

"But, I don't want to bother you when you have so many other duties to take care of…" ' _And besides, I don't even know how much time I've left._ '

"Oh don't worry about that! When you become someone's personal servant you can be excused from your duties while your master needs you."

Yui thought for a moment. ' _Well, if she really wants to do it…_ ' "I've never ever thought about being someone's master, I don't really like telling people what to do."

The servant's smile slowly began to disappear. "If that's how you feel, then-"

"But." Yui cut her off and looked away from her. "If you really want to, then I guess it would be nice having someone here who can help me out if needed and… perhaps… keep me company?" She turned to face her again and was met by the biggest smile she had ever seen.

"Yes! Yes! Yes!" The servant jumped up and down like a little kid, her hands still holding on to Yui's. Yui would have laughed but because her heart hurt with every jump all she could do was smile and try to hide her pain from the excited female. "I promise I won't disappoint you, master!" She assured her once she stopped jumping.

"Please, just call me Yui."

"Yui-sama it is then!"

Yui sweat dropped and smiled awkwardly. "I have I feeling we're going to have a lot of fun together."

"You bet! Now, what kind of books do you want to read?"

"Oh, right, almost forgot about that. Umm, do you have anything about the… _**outcasts**_ perhaps?" Yui asked nervously, hoping she wouldn't ask too many questions about it.

"Outcasts? You mean the ones who aren't part of our society?"

"That sounds right."

"Yes we do have books about them, I'll take out some of them for you so you can just wait by the table over there." She explained and pointed at the round table a little further away.

"You don't have to do that on your own, I can help you-"

"No, no, no, starting today I want my master to rely on me. Please?" Yui could have sworn the goddess's once golden eyes turned into puppy eyes. How could she refuse when she was looking at her like that?

Yui sighed in defeat. "Alright, I'll wait over there." She said and turned around and walked towards the table.

"Thank you!" The servant called after her, sounding very happy.

' _I guess it's a good thing I can rest for now, because soon I will have to sneak away and search for something or someone who can help me remove the curse._ ' Then she remembered something and turned around. "What's your name by the way?"

The servant turned away from one of the bookshelves and spun around, she looked a little surprised but a smile soon decorated her beautiful face. "It's Helga, Yui-sama."

* * *

Yui must have spent at least 2 hours reading about the creatures who roamed the areas far away from civilisation, Helga hadn't left her side either. "Have you found anything interesting?" She asked.

"I have but I think I want to read a little more." Yui answered, not looking away from the book she was reading.

"If I may ask, is there a reason you want to read about the outcasts?"

Yui looked up from the book and smiled innocently at Helga. "I'm just really interested in them, that's all. And besides, I want to learn more about them so I know what I can do if I ever meet one of these creatures."

"Good point, you're a human so you need to be extra careful."

Yui almost sighed in relief, glad that Helga understood the "reason" why she was reading about them. She didn't want to lie, she hated it but what other choice did she have?

1 more hour passed and she was beginning to feel tired.

"Do you want some tea, Yui-sama? You have been reading for 3 hours now."

"That would be nice, thank you, Helga-san."

"I'll be right back." Helga giggled and left the library.

Yui had just finished reading something interesting about elves. ' _Elves commonly cause human illnesses, but they also have the power to heal them. They are willing to do so if sacrifices are offered to them._ ' She read. ' _Perhaps they're able to help me, even though I have nothing I can offer them._ '

Just a few minutes later Helga was back in the library with the tea. "Sorry to keep you waiting~" She sang happily.

"Helga-san, look at these. They're beautiful."

"Oh?"

Helga walked up to her, put the teacup on the table and looked at the picture Yui was referring to. "Ah, the elves. Yes they are indeed very beautiful creatures. They can usually be found deep in the forest."

"I see, and they don't have any connections with gods?"

"Not really, if gods and elves meet then they will only nod to acknowledge each other's presence and walk their separate ways. We may not interact with each other but we still like to be polite."

"And… what if I met one?"

"I guess they would either ignore you or approach you. If they do, they want to see if they can do anything for you, for a price that is."

"I understand. Thanks for the tea, Helga-san." Yui said and took the teacup in her hand, trying to change the subject.

"You're welcome~!"

Helga was a few inches taller and looked a little more mature than Yui but she acted more like a child when she was pleased or happy. She looked like a regular and calm goddess when Yui first met her on her way to the library but was already showing her what kind of a person she really was. Yui knew that all of the servants had to be polite and do what they were told but it seemed like once you got close to them, they would show you their true nature. "I think I should return home now." Yui said and finished her tea.

"That's probably for the best, you look a little tired." Helga pointed out. "Just promise me you will call for me next time you visit the castle."

"I promise."

"I will escort you to the exit." The goddess stated and offered Yui a hand to help her up from the chair.

Yui giggled at her gesture but took her hand anyway. Helga's hand was warm… or was Yui just getting colder? "Oh my, your hand feel more cold now than it was before." Helga noticed and used both of her hands to warm it up.

Yui had to act like she was thinking about something and put her free hand against the cheek to check the temperature. "Hmm, you're right… Maybe I'm coming down with a cold?"

"A cold? Ah, it's that common human sickness, right?"

"Yes and it's nothing serious, I just need to rest."

"Then you should go home right away before it gets worse."

Helga started to lead Yui out from the library and didn't let go of her until they were standing in front of the exit. "Now you take care of yourself."

"You too, Helga-san. Goodbye!"

* * *

Yui was almost back at her cottage when she felt a sharp pain coming from her heart and she could feel the ice starting to spread. ' _No… Not now…_ ' She thought as she felt the urge to groan but tried as hard as she could not to let a single sound escape her mouth. ' _I have to get home, now!_ '

She walked as fast as she could and finally made it inside her cottage. She immediately went inside the bedroom and placed herself in front of the mirror. It still hurt like hell and what only made matters worse was that every time she moved, it felt like the ice was tearing on her skin. She groaned as she removed the sweater. Once it was off she gasped at what she saw, the snowflake-shaped patch of ice over her heart was twice as big as it was before and from its edges grew curvy lines of ice. The lines made it look like an octopus was trying to crawl out of her. One of the lines was heading for her left shoulder, it hadn't reached yet but if it grew this fast then it was only a matter of time… Another line would definitely spread sideways and go just below her armpit, the third line would head towards her throat and the fourth line would travel down between her breasts and then reach her stomach.

"I won't be able to hide it for long…" She whispered to herself with fear in her eyes, her mouth slightly open and tears that threatened to fall. She was so scared right now and realised she had much less time to heal herself than she first thought. She could cover herself all the way to her throat but if the line that was heading that way went any higher she wouldn't be able to hide it. She would have to leave as soon as she wakes up tomorrow, she couldn't waste any more time.

 **A/N: Sorry you had to wait a little longer than usual for this chapter but you'll get the next chapter in about 3 days, promise!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Previously:**

Yui was almost back at her cottage when she felt a sharp pain coming from her heart and she could feel the ice starting to spread. ' _No… Not now…_ ' She thought as she felt the urge to groan but tried as hard as she could not to let a single sound escape her mouth. ' _I have to get home, now!_ '

She walked as fast as she could and finally made it inside her cottage. She immediately went inside the bedroom and placed herself in front of the mirror. It still hurt like hell and what only made matters worse was that every time she moved, it felt like the ice was tearing on her skin. She groaned as she removed the sweater. Once it was off she gasped at what she saw, the snowflake-shaped patch of ice over her heart was twice as big as it was before and from its edges grew curvy lines of ice. The lines made it look like an octopus was trying to crawl out of her. One of the lines was heading for her left shoulder, it hadn't reached yet but if it grew this fast then it was only a matter of time… Another line would definitely spread sideways and go just below her armpit, the third line would head towards her throat and the fourth line would travel down between her breasts and then reach her stomach.

"I won't be able to hide it for long…" She whispered to herself with fear in her eyes, her mouth slightly open and tears that threatened to fall. She was so scared right now and realised she had much less time to heal herself than she first thought. She could cover herself all the way to her throat but if the line that was heading that way went any higher she wouldn't be able to hide it. She would have to leave as soon as she wakes up tomorrow, she couldn't waste any more time.

 **Now:**

It was still pretty dark outside when Yui woke up, thinking it was better to leave before everyone else left their homes to start the day she hurried to put on a black and warm sweater and a pair of grey jeans. Lucky for her, the ice hadn't spread during the night but she still hadn't been able to sleep peacefully. The fear of the ice moving over her body kept her from being able to relax and she woke up several times before she finally decided to get up. Helga had told her the elves could be found deep in the forest so that's where she was going. She opened the door to her cottage and peeked outside, not wanting anyone to see her leave so early. When she couldn't spot a single soul she stepped outside and closed the door behind her, then she followed the road that led away from the village. There were many different forests in Asgard but she figured she needed to find a really big one if she wanted to find an elf, so she kept walking for at least an hour until she finally spotted one in the distance.

Even if she was only wearing a thick sweater she figured it wouldn't matter what she was wearing since the cold she was feeling didn't come from outside, it came from inside. "I can only hope they're able to help me…"

By the time she was standing just outside the big forest the sky was getting a bit brighter and she was able to see clearer. The forest sure looked spooky. A layer of thin snow covered the ground inside and she could barely see the tree trunks through the thick mist. But she couldn't turn back now and as she felt the motivation building up inside her she dared to take her first steps inside the pale-looking forest.

She walked straight forward, never taking a turn, in fear of not being able to find her way back. For several minutes she walked with her arms around her body, not knowing if she did it because she was cold or because it was comforting. As time passed she began to doubt she could find anyone in this forest, it looked so uninhabited, not a single sign of life anywhere. ' _Perhaps I should go back?_ ' She thought but her legs kept walking and she soon found herself surrounded by more and even bigger trees than the ones she passed before.

The forest never seemed to end. At least 40 minutes passed before the mist finally disappeared, like it was never there to begin with but when Yui turned around she saw the thick mist was still there behind her. It was as if something prevented it from going any further inside the forest. Yui knew she shouldn't think too much about the strange things happening in Asgard, she was very well aware of that the world of the gods was very different from the world she was used to. Ignoring the mist behind her she continued deeper into the forest and it didn't take long before the thin layer of snow underneath her feet suddenly disappeared as well and was replaced by soft, green grass. The deeper she went, the greener the forest became. Before she knew it, the forest had transformed completely, she could hear different animals making noises, green leaves covered the trees and flowers covered the ground around her. It was like she had walked into a forest in the middle of summer, no sign of winter anywhere anymore. ' _Maybe I am at the right place after all._ '

Now she just had to find what she was looking for.

More time passed as Yui went deeper and deeper into the unknown. The thick branches covered in leaves protected her from the sun and the little light that was allowed to enter felt very nice for the human's eyes since she was able to see clearly, without getting blinded. In some places, the grass had made its way up on the tree trunks like a blanket. They melted together so nicely it was hard to tell what was the ground and what was the trees.

The forest was so enchanted and beautiful Yui almost forgot what she was there for. Two voices in the distance made her snap out of her thoughts, though. She couldn't hear what they were talking about but she could tell the voices belonged to a female and a male and they were close by. ' _Perhaps…!_ ' She thought as she hurried towards where the voices came from.

When she reached a glade she let her right hand rest on a tree trunk as she scanned the open ground for the ones she had heard talking, she spotted them right in the middle. The glade wasn't big but at least the green grass was completely exposed to the sun here and the two figures just a little further away from her seemed to enjoy the warm light the sun provided them as they talked. _"I told you this was a nice spot."_ She heard the female say as she sat down on a big rock to enjoy the nice weather. _"We aren't here to relax, remember… We have work to do. "_ The male sighed

Both of them had long, black hair and pointed ears, almost like Loki's but theirs were definitely longer and more pointed. The male was wearing an armor made of silver and the female was dressed in a white dress, a little similar to the one Yui usually wore. She took a good look at them and came to the conclusion that these two were definitely elves.

" _It seems we have company."_ The female elf said and stood up from the rock. She was looking directly at the surprised human woman. ' _Oh no, I hope they don't think I was spying on them._ ' Yui thought and started to feel nervous. Unsure of what to do she just stood where she stood, trying to figure out what to say to them.

" _Come here, there's no need to hide."_ The female told her _._

Yui obeyed and slowly walked into the glade but stopped a few yards away from them, not sure if she could trust them. The male elf stared at her. "You're a human." He stated.

Yui's eyes met his light blue ones. "I am."

"How did you get here? A human can't simply walk into our world."

"Please, my name i Yui and I live with the Norse gods. I came here hoping you could help me."

"The gods you say… And what could we possibly help you with? The gods are more than capable of tending to your needs."

"They have helped me with many things… but they can't help me with this…"

The female took a few steps towards her. "What is this I'm sensing?" She continued forward until she stood right in front at her, looking down at her. "It's coming from here." She stated and pointed at Yui's heart.

' _So, she can tell…_ ' Yui thought. The fabric of the black sweater was pretty elastic, so she could pull it down with ease to show her.

The female elf reached out to touch it and inspected it carefully. "You poor thing…"

"A curse." The male whispered from behind her.

The female removed her eyes from the ice on Yui's chest and looked into her eyes. "Why can't the gods help you with this?"

Yui looked down at the ground. "The one who put this on me is called Sisyphus."

"Sisyphus? That ice demon who was once human?"

"Yes. You see, I was going to return a human child to my old world when he found me, put this curse on me and took away the child. If any of the gods find out, the little boy will be killed. Sisyphus gave me a chance to heal myself and save the boy but to do that I would have to seek help from the ones who have no connections to the gods."

"So you came to us, hoping we could remove it." The male stated. The female ignored him and spoke to Yui before she could answer him. "My dear, this will kill you soon."

"I know. I have nothing to offer you but if you are able to do something, please, I'll do anything. I have to save the child before I drag him down with me. If I die, so will he. Sisyphus will not let him go." Tears threatened to fall as she begged the two elves for help.

A gentle hand was placed on top of her head to calm her. "Yui, I'm afraid we won't be able to do anything for you. There are many things we can heal but this, this curse of yours, we simply do not possess that kind of power it takes to destroy it. I'm sorry, I truly am."

Yui didn't answer at first, instead she let the words sink in. Realising she had to leave and look for help somewhere else she bowed at the beautiful elves in front of her. "Thank you for having a look at me, I appreciate it."

The male elf started smirking. "If you survive, please come again and ask for help. We can do almost anything for you, at a price of course."

The female turned her head and threw him an angry look.

"Thank you, I must leave now." Yui thanked them and moved to walk back the same way she came from. "You… Can I ask you not to tell any gods about this?"

"We do not get involved with gods, you don't have to worry." Said the female elf. "Take care, you brave human."

* * *

' _What am I going to do now? I had really hoped the elves would be able to help. I think I read something about a Greek goddess who has healing powers, maybe I should try and find her. I just have to check so that she doesn't have any close connection with the other gods._ '

The snow was back beneath her feet and she could spot the thick mist in the distance. The air became colder too as she moved further away from the "summer" part of the forest and yet, she felt just as cold as before. Even if it was warmer before it didn't really matter, her body just continued to drop in temperature.

She was getting tired, the curse was taking its toll on her and it felt like she didn't have the same strength she had before. "I should use the necklace and teleport myself back home." She whispered to herself and reached for the chain around her neck, only to find out she had forgotten to put it on before she left that morning. ' _Oh…_ '

Realising she would have to walk after all she decided to sit down on a rock for a moment to rest. "Of all the things to forget…" She sighed and pulled down the sweater a little to have a look at it, even when it wasn't spreading it hurt.

"You seem tired, young lady." A voice spoke.

Startled, Yui looked around several times but couldn't see anyone. "Who-"

"Down here." The voice said again.

She looked down and saw a small animal standing beside the rock she was sitting on. ' _An otter?_ ' She thought in surprise.

"Hello there." The otter greeted.

"You- you can talk?"

"Of course. Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Otr."

"Otr?" ' _What an unusual name._ ' She thought.

"That's right, I was just passing by when I saw you sitting here all alone."

"Oh, yes, I guess I'm just a little tired. I need to get back home as soon as possible."

"You're in a hurry?"

"I'm afraid so."

"Why?"

"I have to find a way to remove this." Yui explained and pulled the sweater down to show the talking otter.

"Ah, that. I saw you looking at it when I came over here." The otter explained. "Mind if I take a closer look?"

"If you want…" There was no harm in showing him the ice but she didn't think he would be able to do anything for her since he was just an otter.

Otr jumped up on her lap and studied the ice on her chest closely. In his eyes, the curvy lines of ice looked quite beautiful. "Hmm, if you don't want it, then perhaps I can have it?"

Yui threw him a strange look. "Have it?"

The otter jumped down from her lap. "If you come with me, I will take you to a place where you can have it removed."

Her eyes widened. "There is a way?"

"Yes, just come with me."

Yui thought for a moment. She didn't know if she could trust this adorable little otter, even the most innocent-looking creatures could be dangerous but she didn't really have time to hesitate. Soon, the ice would begin to spread again and she didn't know how much pain her body would be able to handle before she would collapse. She would just have to trust him. "Alright, let's go." She answered him and stood up from the rock.

"Great! Follow me."

Yui followed him out of the forest and continued in the opposite direction from her home. She got more nervous the further away they went and feared she wouldn't make it back if Otr was wrong, not without having to stop and rest several times at least. The others would get worried, too. They must have noticed she was gone by now but hopefully they would think she went to the human world, that would buy her some time at least.

"How far is it?" She asked after about 40 minutes of walking.

"We'll be there in about an hour or so."

"An hour?"

"See those mountains over there in the distance?"

"...Yes?"

"That's where we're going."

"If you don't mind me asking, Otr-san, who resides in those mountains?"

"The dwarves."

"Dwarves? They live over there?" Yui had heard a thing or two about the dwarves, like that they were extremely skilled smiths and craftspeople. Thor's hammer, for example, was made by them. They are also knowledgeable, wise and magically powerful. One thing that isn't so good is that they turn to stone if they're exposed to the rays of the sun.

"Correct, you have heard of them?" Otr asked.

"A little."

"By the way, I never asked about your name."

"Ah, sorry, I'm Kusanagi Yui." She smiled down at him.

"Kusanagi Yui, that's a beautiful name. Yui-san it is then."

Yui couldn't help but giggle, this otter was just too adorable.

* * *

Outside Yui's cottage Balder, Loki, Thor, Sif, Freyr, Freyja, Apollon, Hades, Dionysus, Tsukito and Takeru had gathered.

"Where could she be?" Balder asked, a little worried.

"She's probably in the human world." Sif answered him.

"If she is, why didn't she tell us?" Takeru pointed out.

Freyja crossed her arms. "She doesn't have to tell us about her plans all the time you know."

"Yeah, leave to poor girl alone. She's probably still feeling down about leaving the human child and needs some space." Freyr agreed.

"And here I was hoping I could beat you all at twister again." Dionysus sighed.

"You did not win, remember!" Takeru shouted at him.

"Perhaps we should come back later to see if Fairy is back then." Apollon suggested.

"Good idea." Hades agreed. "We're probably going to stay here until we've found Sisyphus anyway."

"We don't even know if he's still here in Asgard." Loki pointed out.

"He might have returned home, wherever his home is." Freyr added.

"Maybe, but this is where he was spotted so we have to keep looking until we're sure." Apollon stated.

Freyja grabbed her brother's and Apollon's arms and began to drag them away. "Anyway, let's just go, I'm sure Yui-chan will be back soon."

The others followed them but Loki remained in front of Yui's cottage, throwing a somewhat concerned look at it before he followed his friends who were heading for Odin's castle.

* * *

Yui and Otr were standing on a small hill, looking up at the mountain in front of them. Hundreds of small stone houses had been cut out from the mountain walls and reached all the way from the bottom to the top, long stairs had also been cut out that went from house to house. "You seem impressed." Otr stated.

"I am, it looks really cool." Yui answered, not taking her eyes off the house-covered mountain.

"Let's go meet the dwarves then!" Otr exclaimed and ran down the hill.

"Ah! Wait for me!"

As they got closer Yui noticed two figures standing just underneath one of the stone houses that had been cut out from the wall. The many other mountains that surrounded them shielded them from the sun but it didn't seem like they wanted to risk turning to stone, so they remained in the shadow the house above them provided.

They were males, both had beards and a little messy hair. As they got closer to them she also realised they were a little shorter than her, despite looking like fully grown men. Their ears were a little pointy, too, but not very much. "Otr-san." She uttered, feeling unsure about the situation she had put herself in. She knew they could be dangerous if she did something that could anger them.

"Do not worry, they're not so bad as they look."

Before Yui could make a comment, one of the dwarves moved out of the shadow. "You have no room to talk, Otr."

Yui stopped walking.

"Haha, sorry, did I insult you Fjalar?" Otr laughed.

The other dwarf stepped out as well. "So, you have finally decided to pay us a visit? It's been months since we last saw you."

"Galar, my friend, how have you been?"

"Better than you it seems…"

Yui looked between the two dwarves, the one named Fjalar had white hair and the other had black and they looked quite similar.

Fjalar crossed his arms. "Why are you here, Otr?"

Otr turned around and looked up at Yui. "Because of her."

The two dwarves, who had been focusing on Otr, looked up from the otter and made eye contact with the human woman in front of them. "Her?" Galar asked.

By now, more dwarves had appeared behind Fjalar and Galar, curious at what was going on. Some were even sticking out their heads through the windows from inside the mountain.

"She needed help, so I took her here." Otr explained.

" _What is going on here?_ " A voice asked and a brown haired dwarf stepped out from the crowd.

"Brother, it's been awhile!" Otr laughed nervously.

' _Brother?_ ' Yui thought, clearly confused. How could an otter have a brother who was a dwarf?

The brown haired dwarf ignored the otter and turned to Yui. "You, who are you?"

 **A/N: There you have it and thanks for the reviews! Next chapter in 3 days! :D**


	15. Chapter 15

**Previously:**

The two dwarves, who had been focusing on Otr, looked up from the otter and made eye contact with the human woman in front of them. "Her?" Galar asked.

By now, more dwarves had appeared behind Fjalar and Galar, curious at what was going on. Some were even sticking out their heads through the windows from inside the mountain.

"She needed help, so I took her here." Otr explained.

" _What is going on here?_ " A voice asked and a brown haired dwarf stepped out from the crowd.

"Brother, it's been awhile!" Otr laughed nervously.

' _Brother?_ ' Yui thought, clearly confused. How could an otter have a brother who was a dwarf?

The brown haired dwarf ignored the otter and turned to Yui. "You, who are you?"

 **Now:**

"Hello, my name is Kusanagi Yui." Yui introduced herself to the dwarves. "I'm here because I need help and Otr-san told me you would be able to."

"She has something beautiful she wants to remove from her body, brother." Otr added.

Yui looked down at him. ' _Beautiful?_ '

"Otr, change back to your original form, I can't take you seriously if you don't." Otr's brother told him.

"Hah? What's wrong with this form?"

"Just do it."

Otr sighed but did as he was told and Yui watched in surprise as the small otter turned into a red haired dwarf in front of her eyes. "You're… not really an otter?" She asked after a few seconds. Otr looked quite young, if he had been a human she would have guessed he was around 25 years old. His brother looked at least 45, maybe 50.

"No, he is not. Kusanagi-san, was it? My name is Regin, I'm a smith and this fool's brother. It's a pleasure to meet you and I hope he hasn't caused you any trouble."

"The pleasure is all mine, Regin-san. Otr-san reached out to me when he saw I needed help, so I believe _I'm_ the one causing trouble for _him_."

"Nonsense, Yui-san!" Otr exclaimed. "I took you here so we could remove that beautiful thing for you and perhaps make a deal. I would really like to have it once it's been removed."

Yui blinked at him a few times, was he serious? "Um, Otr-san…"

"Could you please show me what it is my brother wants exactly?" Regin asked and stepped closer to Yui.

"Of course." Yui replied and pulled down the sweater.

Regin's eyes became wide and serious when he saw the thing Otr thought was so beautiful. "This is…" He began.

Yui turned to Otr. "Otr-san, I'm afraid there has been a misunderstanding. This isn't some kind of jewelry."

"It's a curse." Regin finished for her. "Something powerful has put a curse on this human girl."

"Wait, wait, wait! A curse? Human?" Otr exclaimed in confusion.

 _ **Silence ~**_

"You… didn't know I was human?" Yui asked.

"And that the thing on her chest is a curse?" Galar added.

"I… I had no idea!" Otr cried out.

"Come with me." Regin said to Yui. "I think we should talk about this somewhere more private."

* * *

Yui, Otr, Fjalar, Galar and Regin were sitting around a table inside Fjalar's stone house almost at the top of the mountain. Yui had just told them the whole story of how she got cursed by Sisyphus.

"I'm so stupid…" Otr sighed.

"He likes beautiful things, that's why he wanted to help you." Fjalar whispered to Yui.

"I thought she was a goddess whose jewelry was stuck on her and thought that I could trade it or something if we were able to remove it…"

"I'm sorry, Otr-san. I should have told you about it but I thought you had figured out it was a curse when you first saw it." Yui apologized.

"Do not apologize, Kusanagi-san, my brother may have fooled you into believing he wanted to help you thanks to his cute appearance but what he really was after was that thing on your chest. He doesn't care about your well being, only about the profit he can make for removing it for you." Regin explained.

Otr looked like he was about to shout something at his brother but the sound of Yui's voice stopped him before he could. "It's alright, I don't ask him to care or feel sorry for me. I was just glad he told me there was a way to remove it."

"Yui-san…" Otr said in almost a whisper.

"But… it seems that, because of the misunderstanding, you may not be able to remove it, right?" Yui asked.

"I'm afraid so." Regin sighed. "If it had been something else, then perhaps we could have removed it for you but us dwarves can't remove a curse as strong as this, I'm sorry."

Yui's heart sank. "Don't apologize, I will find a way to heal myself somehow. Thank you for allowing me to enter your home, it was really generous of you but I'm afraid I have to leave. I don't know how much time I- AAHH!"

The ice suddenly started spreading.

She felt the ice cutting through the flesh, leaving a burning sensation as it moved like a snake over her skin.

The four dwarves looked like they were panicking and wanted to help but there was nothing they could do and was forced to watch as the ice was slowly devouring the human girl.

Yui was clutching the ice over her heart tightly as if trying to relieve some of the unbearable pain it caused her and breathed heavily. It felt like she wasn't getting enough air into her lungs and she was starting to become very pale.

"Yui-san!" Otr exclaimed and quickly stood up from his chair and ran over to her. "Is there anything we can do! ?" He cried out as he placed a hand on her shoulder to soothe her but Yui only groaned in response. There was no end to the pain and she felt the panic washing over her as it was getting harder and harder to breath. In desperation, she flew up from the chair and managed to take a few steps before she collapsed on the floor.

The dwarves rushed to her side.

"Breath, Kusanagi, breath!" Galar shouted.

"You have to calm down and focus!" Fjalar added.

Regin put a hand and her cheek. "Kusanagi-san, can you hear me? !"

Otr was still standing by the table, watching the three trying to calm the suffering human.

A few minutes passed and Yui was starting to calm down and breath normal again but she was exhausted and didn't have the strength to move. The dwarves thought it would be best if they could move her to the bed but since they were all shorter than her it was hard for one dwarf to do it, so Fjalar and Galar both helped carrying her into the bedroom.

Half an hour passed before Yui opened her eyes and found herself on a comfortable yet small bed. She sat up slowly, the ice tearing on her skin as she did, and pulled the sweater down. ' _No…!_ ' She thought and removed the sweater completely from her body. She didn't have a bra since it would be too painful to wear one but she couldn't care less about being so exposed right now. One line of ice was now resting on top of her left shoulder, the other had moved sideways below her armpit and had continued a few inches towards her back, the third line had traveled between her breasts, continued down and had stopped less than 2 inches from her belly button and the last line had stopped right below her throat. ' _What am I going to do now? It hurts so much…_ '

She could hear the door open but didn't bother to look up or even cover herself. Regin entered the room with a bowl of hot water and a towel but stopped in his tracks when he saw that Yui was sitting up, half naked. "Kusanagi-san!" He exclaimed and ran to her side. "Are you alright?"

"I… I'm fine…" Yui whispered and used both her arms to cover her chest.

Regin's eyes were stuck on the ice on her body, it had definitely spread.

Three more figures appeared in the doorway. "Yui-san!" Otr exclaimed and ran up to the bed. "How are you feeling?"

A single tear rolled down Yui's cheek. "Thank you for taking care of me, I need to go now…" Was her answer before she moved to the side to get out of the bed but a hand on her ice-free shoulder stopped her.

"Kusanagi-san, you have to rest." Regin told her.

"That's right, if you move too much you might collapse again." Fjalar agreed.

Yui sobbed softly. "But… if I can't heal myself… then-"

"Wait here for a moment, I'll be right back." Regin said and left Yui with the others as he hurried outside.

* * *

"He's been gone for awhile now, what's he doing?" Otr asked, mostly to himself.

Yui had calmed down and was feeling a little better now, her sweater was back on and she was ready to leave and continue her search for a cure.

Galar, who had left the room just a moment ago, came back in with a cup of water. "Here, it's not good if you become dehydrated." He stated and handed Yui the cup.

"Thank you." Yui smiled, accepting the kind offer.

They then heard the front door open and a few seconds later, Regin entered the bedroom. "Sorry, took longer than I thought it would."

"What have you been doing?" Fjalar asked.

"I have managed to make something that might help you, Kusanagi-san, just a little though but still better than nothing." Regin explained and held up something small that had the shape of a star and looked like it was made of iron. "You see, I can make a lot of useful things out of iron as well as silver and gold, this is a combination of all three and it will help relieve your pain a little. It can't stop the ice from spreading but at least you will be able to handle the pain when it grows without collapsing."

"Regin-san… thank you so much!" Yui cried out with a smile, feeling very grateful to the dwarves for being so kind to her, even though they just met.

"Could you pull down the fabric a little so I can place it on you?"

Yui did what she was told and Regin carefully placed the star over the snowflake-shaped ice on her chest, once he removed his hand the star was glued to the snowflake and was covering it completely. Even if it was still pretty painful she was relieved it had taken away _**some**_ of it. Perhaps she would be able to withstand it a little longer now? "I can't thank you enough, I don't have anything to give in return but if there's anything else I can-"

"Just stay alive, young human." Regin told her. "I will not ask anything from someone whose life is slowly being taken away from her. What I ask from you is to keep fighting, don't give up. It truly saddens me that such a sweet and innocent human has become a victim of such an evil curse…"

Fjalar, Galar and Otr looked at them in surprise when Yui suddenly leaned forward and gave Regin a hug. "I will fight till the end, I promise." She whispered.

Regin wrapped his arms around her as well. "Do come visit when you feel better, alright?"

"Of course."

The two let go of each other and Yui stood up from the bed. "Again, thanks for everything."

"Take care of yourself now." Galar smiled sadly at her, knowing this might be the first and last time they'll ever see her again.

"And if you ever need weapons or jewelry, come to us and we will have it made for you." Fjalar added.

Yui smiled at them. "I will."

"Otr, escort Kusanagi-san home." Regin ordered his brother, who was looking down at the floor.

"... Alright."

* * *

The walk back home was slow and quiet. Yui wasn't able to walk in a normal speed, was already starting to feel tired and Otr, for some reason, looked like he was feeling guilty. ' _Perhaps I should apologize again for not telling him about it sooner._ ' Yui thought as she looked down at the dwarf walking beside her.

"I'm sorry…" Otr whispered before she had the chance to say anything to him.

"What?"

"I'm sorry, I said we could remove it but we couldn't. I gave you false hope."

He didn't look her in the eye.

"Otr-san, I think I should be the one to apologize."

Otr's eyes met hers. "But I'm the one who only wanted to help you for selfish reasons."

"I'm just glad you wanted to help me at all. I didn't care about your reasons and I don't expect anyone to help me because they feel sorry for me. I have to seek help from the ones Sisyphus called outsiders and I don't know anyone here except for a handful of gods, so it's not like I believed you would help someone you don't know. Not without getting something in return at least."

Otr stared at her with slightly wide eyes. "... You… you really are something."

"What do you mean?"

"Even though you are dying and are desperate you're still able to be so understanding and grateful for the little things my brother could do for you."

"..."

"And you're strong, too."

"Me? Strong?"

"I mean, look at you, you can barely keep your body moving and you're still able to push yourself forward so you can save yourself and that kid. You're strong, I like that in a woman."

She blushed a little at his comment. "I, um, thank you, Otr-san. That made me feel a little better."

Otr suddenly stopped walking and turned his head to the side, away from Yui.

"Otr-san?"

"I just got an idea that's worth trying… maybe."

"And what is that?" Yui asked, sounding hopeful.

"I don't think you're going to like it though."

"Is it dangerous?"

"It involves a dragon."

"A… A dragon? !"

"My other brother actually, his name is Fafnir." Otr explained. He looked like he was starting to regret he even brought it up.

"Your brother? Your brother is a dragon?"

"Indeed, he wasn't always though. It's a long story, but after being affected by the curse of Andvari's cursed ring and gold, he became greedy and mean and finally turned into a dragon. He resides in that mountain over there where he guards all of his gold."

"A dragon…" Yui repeated to herself quietly.

"It's alright if you don't want to go there, but a dragon's blood has healing abilities. I don't know if it's enough to remove the curse but it might be worth a try."

Yui thought hard about it for a minute, Otr was right and she was willing to do almost anything to get rid of the curse and save the human boy. "It's going to be very dangerous, right?"

"Yes, I'm not going to lie. We need to come up with a plan if we're going to enter his cave. You should also know that instead of breathing fire, he breathes poison. The poison can weaken us mythological beings but if a human like you inhale too much of it, you'll die."

"I understand… Let's do it."

"You sure?"

"I'm dying anyway, if I want to live I have to take a few risks."

"I admire your courage but if Fafnir catches us in the act, we're more or less doomed."

"Oh no…" Yui sighed when she realised something important. "I didn't think of that." She added and looked down at the snow covered ground in shame.

' _Is she regretting her decision?_ ' Otr thought.

"I'm sorry, I didn't think about what you're risking."

"What?"

"If you go with me, you'll be in danger as well and I don't want that. I don't want you to risk your life for me, Otr-san…"

"That's what you're worried about?" Otr asked in surprise.

"Of course I'm worried about that! I could never forgive myself if you got hurt or even killed because of me."

Now it was Otr's turn to blush and quickly turned away from her. "... I'll do it…"

"Huh?"

Otr turned to face her again. "I'm going to help you."

"I can't ask this of you…"

"You don't have to, I'm going to do it anyway."

"But-"

"You're going to need my help and I'm willing to lend you my strength." Otr assured her as he took her hand in his.

Even if she was a little taller than him her hand still felt smaller in his.

After a moment she finally smiled and said, "Let's do this."

 **A/N: Good news! I have some free time on my hands so I will probably be able to post the next chapter in about 2 days!**


	16. Chapter 16

**Previously:**

"If you go with me, you'll be in danger as well and I don't want that. I don't want you to risk your life for me, Otr-san…"

"That's what you're worried about?" Otr asked in surprise.

"Of course I'm worried about that! I could never forgive myself if you got hurt or even killed because of me."

Now it was Otr's turn to blush and quickly turned away from her. "... I'll do it…"

"Huh?"

Otr turned to face her again. "I'm going to help you."

"I can't ask this of you…"

"You don't have to, I'm going to do it anyway."

"But-"

"You're going to need my help and I'm willing to lend you my strength." Otr assured her as he took her hand in his.

Even if she was a little taller than him her hand still felt smaller in his.

After a moment she finally smiled and said, "Let's do this."

 **Now:**

"So, what's the plan?" Yui asked as they walked in the direction of Fafnir's cave. This had given Yui more hope and she was feeling motivated enough to push herself forward.

"Fafnir is going to try and kill us if he finds us in his cave, especially if he believes we're after his gold, so we have to be careful and very quiet if we're going to make it out alive." Otr explained.

"Careful and quiet," Yui repeated. "got it. But one more thing, how are we going to get some of his blood?"

"If he's asleep it's going to be much easier but what I need you to do is to wait for me to retrieve the blood."

"You won't need my help?"

"I have the power to change into almost any form I want, all I have to do is to change into something small and suck some blood out of him. That way he won't notice me."

"Alright, like a mosquito?"

"A mosquito would be too small, I won't be able to suck out enough blood, nor can I break through his hard scale to reach a soft spot in such a tiny form. But perhaps a leech would be alright? First I change into a fly, fly up to him and change into a leech, crawl through the scale and then suck his blood. That should work."

"Isn't there anything I can do?" Yui tried again. "I don't want you to do all the work on your own."

"There is one thing you can do."

"What is it?"

Otr took out a small bottle from his pocket he happened to carry with him. "Once I'm done I'm going to fall to the ground, you will have to catch me when I do. Then hold me above this bottle and I will fill it. Then we leave as quickly as possible."

"Good plan." Yui smiled and took the bottle he was holding out for her to take.

As they got closer and closer to the lone mountain it was starting to get a little windy and the sky got darker, as if snow could start falling any second. Yui had to hug her body in attempt to keep what was left of her body heat, it was really no use in trying but she still did it out of habit. Otr noticed this of course. ' _This is how a slow death looks like…_ ' He thought with a frown.

About 20 minutes later they reached the foot of the mountain.

"This is it, you ready?" Otr asked.

"Yes." Yui answered. "How do we get in?"

"The entrance is up there." The dwarf said and pointed.

Yui followed his finger and spotted a big hole in the mountain a little further away from where they stood. It was placed at least 20 feet up. "How do we get up there?" She asked before she turned to face Otr again.

Beside her stood a big and white mountain goat.

Yui jumped back in surprise and stared at Otr.

"Surprised?" Otr asked calmly.

"A little, yes. I wasn't prepared to see a goat beside me."

"Mountain goats are very good climbers, I can get us both up in this form. Jump up on my back, Yui-san."

"A-Alright." Yui obeyed and carefully climbed up on the goat's furry back. The pain slowed her down but once she was seated Otr started walking, slowly because he didn't want to cause Yui more and unnecessary pain.

"Hold on tight." Then he jumped and landed gracefully on a small cliff.

He moved swiftly up the steep mountain wall as if he had done this many times before. Yui held onto his fur and didn't let go until they were standing on flat ground by the entrance. Carefully she slid down from his back and landed on the stone floor of the cave. Otr changed back to his original form and made a gesture for her to be quiet.

They started walking slowly without making noises and as they got deeper and deeper inside the cave the air started feeling more heavy and a strange smell entered their lungs. Yui didn't know how to explain what exactly it was she was smelling but the first thing that came to her mind was "dirt".

Otr touched her arm to get her attention and when she turned to look at him he placed his hand over his nose and mouth, wanting her to do the same. Yui realised it was probably some of Fafnir's poison she was smelling and quickly placed a hand over her mouth and nose as well.

It was getting darker, the light couldn't reach further inside anymore and they had to be careful so they wouldn't stumble over the pointy rocks sticking up from the ground in front of them. It was quiet too, only the sound of dripping water echoed through the long cave. Then, Otr stopped walking and grabbed Yui's hand to stop her from taking another step. Even if it was dark she could still see him quite clear. He was pointing at something in front of them and once Yui's eyes had adjusted to the darkness she could clearly see something big by the end of the cave… and it was breathing.

There, in front of them, the dragon Fafnir was sleeping on top of some of his gold, the rest of it he was blocking from their sight with his huge body.

Yui took her time to inspect him. He looked like a very big grey lizard and some kind of green or brown smoke escaped from his nose as he breathed. ' _He sure doesn't look like a friendly beast._ ' She thought, feeling quite nervous.

Otr didn't let go of her hand, instead he led her quietly towards a big rock beside the dragon's front leg where she could hide until he was done.

They nodded at each other before Otr turned into a small fly and flew up to the dragon and landed on his back where he then turned into a leech.

Yui couldn't see him anymore, he was too small and the cave was too dark for her to find him, she only knew he was trying to find a soft spot underneath the dragon's scale. She would just have to guess when the time was right for her to approach and catch Otr when he would fall down from Fafnir's back, hopefully with a body filled with blood. She didn't know how long it would take but after a few minutes she moved away from the rock she was hiding behind and very slowly walked up to the dragon's sleeping form so that she was standing right beside it. She was scared now, very scared and her body started shaking. Fafnir was sleeping peacefully but who knew how long that would last? He could wake up at any moment and if he did, she would definitely become dragon food. ' _How did I end up here…? I don't want to be here, I want to go home! Not being able to talk to my friends about this is torture, as if being devoured by ice wasn't torture enough… If this doesn't work, how am I supposed to stay alive long enough to find an actual cure and find where Sisyphus resides? I already feel so weak…_ '

A very faint noise caught her attention and she looked up to see something small roll down Fafnir's back. ' _Otr-san!_ ' She thought and held up her hands.

Luckily, he fell right into her hands and Yui moved to hide behind the rock once again together with the leech. She held it over the small bottle just like Otr had instructed and watched as he released the blood from his body into it. Once he was done Yui closed the lid but before Otr could change back, a rumbling sound echoed through the cave.

The dragon was moving.

Yui's eyes widened, was Fafnir waking up? Otr seemed to be unsure of what to do since he wasn't changing back into a dwarf. She couldn't see the dragon from behind the rock but it sounded like it was lifting its big head from the cold stone floor and all the gold underneath him rattled as he did. ' _Oh no, oh no, oh no…!_ ' She thought, taking a slow and deep breath but didn't dare to exhale.

" **What… is that I'm smelling?** " Fafnir spoke in a very deep and wheezy voice.

' _Shit, shit, shit!_ ' Yui thought in panic and slowly slid down and sat with her back against the rock, holding the bottle and the leech close to her body. Out of fear her legs were unable to hold her body up any longer.

" **This scent… I can't remember the last time I smelled it.** "

Yui closed her eyes and prayed this wasn't happening.

" **I know you are here… human… show yourself.** "

She didn't move a muscle.

" **If you don't, then I will just drag you out. Your choice.** "

"..." She stood up slowly, legs shaking, and moved away from the rock she was hiding behind but not before she had put down Otr and the bottle of blood on the ground. She didn't want to drag him down with her.

" **There you are.** " Fafnir smirked so that his sharp teeth were showing.

Yui didn't say anything, instead she held her head low as she moved to stand in front of him.

" **Why have you come to my cave, human? You must be very stupid if you thought it was a good idea to approach me.** "

"..."

" **Staying silent won't help you. I might as well devour you.** "

"I...I…"

" **Yes?** "

It was no use making something up, she might as well tell him.

"I need… help."

" **You need help, huh? Do you realise who you're talking to? I couldn't care less about you or your problems, the only thing I care about is gold, only gold.** "

"I know that… but my time is limited and I'm willing to take the risk."

" **Interesting. Tell me more.** "

"I've been cursed, by Sisyphus."

" **Sisyphus, I remember him. I was still a dwarf when he was sent to the underworld of the Greek gods. So he finally decided to show up and placed a curse on you, huh? And now you're willing to risk your life to get rid of it.** "

"It's not just for me, he took a human child as a hostage, I'm here for him as well. He will share my fate if I fail to cure myself in time…"

" **And you care about this child?** "

"I do."

" **How foolish… Why bother caring about others when you can care about yourself?** "

"..."

" **There's one thing I don't get, you're a human, why are you here in the world of mythological beings?** "

"The Norse gods took me in because I wanted to stay with my friends, I've been living here for awhile now."

" **Why don't you ask them for help instead of bothering me?** "

"I can't, Sisyphus told me I can't tell them about the curse. If they find out the ice will spread much faster and I will die almost instantly."

" **Ice?** "

Yui pulled down her sweater. "This is how the curse looks like…"

" **What a way to die on.** " Fafnir didn't look like he cared at all, he was just smirking down at her, clearly enjoying the story Yui was telling him. " **I really should eat you just to end your suffering but I don't wanna risk getting that curse of yours by doing so, so I'll just crush you right where you stand.** "

"Wa-!"

Fafnir raised his front leg. " **Say goodnight, human!** " He taunted and was just about to crush her when Otr suddenly jumped in front of her, he had changed back into his original form.

The dragon stopped and stared at the small dwarf in front of the human woman. It was kind of amusing watching him try to shield someone who was taller than himself. " **Well, well, well, if it isn't my dear brother, Otr. Last time I saw you you were in the shape of an otter.** "

"Brother, let her be." Otr told the dragon.

"Otr-san…" Yui whispered.

" **My, my, isn't this interesting. Since when did you care so much about someone you were willing to risk your life for them, hmm?** "

Otr ignored his brother. "I was the one who suggested we'd come here, so don't hurt her."

" **Why shouldn't I? Anyone who enters, I kill, got it?** "

"We will leave right away, we don't want any trouble."

" **You're already in trouble, brother. The moment you entered my cave and sneaked up to me you got in trouble. Don't expect me to show mercy.** "

Poison began to leak from his nose.

' _This is bad!_ ' Otr thought. "Yui-san, run!"

Otr grabbed her hand and started running for the exit.

" **Not so fast!** " Fafnir growled and breathed out a huge cloud of poison that followed after them as they ran.

"Take a deep breath!" Otr shouted.

Yui did as he said but she soon realised it would be impossible to hold it in. Otr was already forcing her to run faster than her body wanted her to and the ice tore on her skin the faster they ran, it was very painful. Otr looked behind them only to see that the poison was catching up to them and also came to a realisation that Yui would collapse from exhaustion and pain if they didn't stop soon.

Panic was shown in his eyes when he saw that Yui had started to inhale, obviously she wasn't able to hold her breath for long in that state.

He had to think fast. He let go of Yui's hand and changed into a wolf, a pretty big one, and cried out to her to jump up on his back.

Yui used what remained of her strength and grabbed his grey fur before she jumped. "Otr-san… I… I think I'm…" She was starting to lose consciousness.

"Just a little longer, Yui-san, hang on!"

* * *

Yui opened her eyes and breathed heavily, she was lying in the snow and the wind was making her shiver. What happened and how did she get here?

"Yui-san!"

She looked to the side and saw Otr, still as a wolf, looking down at her. "Otr… san…" She whispered.

"How are you feeling?"

"Cold… and it feels like… my skin's been torn up…"

Her black sweater looked pretty damp.

Yui took a hold on her sweater and carefully pulled it up. "How does it look?"

Otr stared at the line of ice on her stomach. She was bleeding. The ice had torn her skin apart when they were running and now blood was flowing from around the ice. This was only on her stomach, he honestly didn't want to know how it looked further up her body. He could see the tip of the ice just below her throat and it looked like she was bleeding from there too. This wasn't good, he needed to move her to a place where they could take a proper look at it. "You're bleeding, come on, we need to find shelter."

Yui only swallowed and tried to sit up.

Otr lay down beside her. "Here, it will be easier for you to get on now."

After a moment Yui was back on his back, she was still breathing heavily and seemed to be in a lot of pain. Otr tried to walk as steady as possible but sadly he couldn't stop her from rocking from side to side as he walked.

They were walking in the direction of Yui's home, hoping they could find a place to rest before any gods spotted them. For Yui's sake they had to stop the bleeding and get her to feel a little better, she couldn't return home yet and risk getting questioned by her friends.

After awhile they finally made it to the forest Yui had met the elves and Otr and went inside. They didn't stop until they reached the green part of it. There, Otr let Yui down and let her rest with her back against a tree. The grass she was sitting on felt really soft, even though she was wearing jeans. Otr sat down in front of her but didn't say anything.

Yui's eyes traveled down to her sweater, when she pulled it down so that the skin over her heart was showing she gasped and let go of the sweater, letting it fall up and cover the ice once again.

Otr narrowed his eyes, he had seen it, and it didn't look good. She was bleeding a lot and her face turned pale.

"This isn't… good…" She whispered with her head against the tree and her eyes closed.

"Pull the fabric down again, Yui-san." Otr told her.

Yui opened her eyes again and stared at him for a few seconds before she did what he had told her. She watched as Otr stood up and took a few steps towards her and lowered his head so that he was face to face with the now blood covered ice on her chest. "Otr-san?"

He started licking it gently.

Yui gasped, both from surprise and from the pain it caused her. But she still didn't let go of the fabric, knowing Otr did this to help her. They didn't have any other way to clean it. When Otr was done it looked a little better but it still didn't stop the bleeding completely, it was still an open wound after all.

Yui was feeling embarrassed, even if Otr was a wolf right now it didn't change the fact that he was actually a man, or a dwarf, and she had let him _touch_ her like that. But she shouldn't have to feel guilty or anything, it wasn't like she was in a romantic relationship with anyone… "T-Thank you…" She whispered and let the fabric fall back against her skin.

When she looked up she saw that Otr had changed back into a dwarf. It was a good thing the sun was hidden behind clouds right now or he would have turned to stone the moment the sunbeams hit his skin. He didn't have to worry about that if he had stayed in animal form, though.

"It feels like it's hard to breath." She pointed out.

"That's because you inhaled some of Fafnir's poison when we were running away from him." Otr answered.

"I remember… But we got out thanks to you."

"You lost consciousness right before we reached the exit and you fell down from my back when I threw myself out from the cave."

"I see. What about Fafnir? Didn't he come after us?"

"No, he won't leave the cave unless he really has to. His gold is too important to him."

"Lucky us…" Yui said and looked down.

"What's wrong?"

"I left the bottle behind, we almost got killed for nothing."

"Don't worry about that, I've got it." Otr smiled and took out the blood-filled bottle from his pocket.

"You have it!" Yui exclaimed in relief.

Otr opened it and held it in front of Yui's mouth. "Just a little sip."

The taste was kind of sweet but other than that it wasn't anything special. They waited a few seconds before Yui felt something happening and she pulled down the sweater again and watched as the wound around the ice disappeared and it was easier to breath now as well, but the ice remained. The dragon's blood helped heal the wound caused by it but it didn't remove the curse.

Yui let a sigh escape her mouth. "I'm sorry, Otr-san, it seems like it was all for nothing."

"No, it wasn't. The blood can heal you if the ice tears up your skin again. It's likely it'll happen again, so you better hold on to that bottle."

Yui gave him a smile. "I am very grateful to you, Otr-san."

" _Well, well, who do we have here? Back so soon?"_

Yui and Otr looked to the side and saw the male elf Yui met before she ran into Otr.

"Who are you?" Otr asked the elf.

"Relax, dwarf, I met this little human earlier today when she was looking for a way to remove that curse of hers." The elf explained as he got closer. "And look at you now, your clothes are bloody and you look even more weak than before."

"The ice has spread." Yui explained. "Fafnir's blood healed my wound but did nothing to the curse."

"Blood? The dragon Fafnir's blood?" The elf asked in surprise.

"Yes." Yui answered him. "I have some of it in this bottle."

"You're a brave one, that's for sure. You must be really desperate if you entered the dragon's cave willingly. Give me that bottle and I'll do something for you."

Before Yui could answer, Otr spoke up. "No way! If she receives more wounds because of the curse she is going to need that blood."

"That's too bad, I was hoping I could have some of it since dragon blood is so difficult to get a hold on."

Yui thought for a moment and turned to the elf. "Can you make portals?"

Otr and the elf turned to look at her.

"Yes, I can."

 **A/N: There you go! Next chapter will be out in about 4 days!**


	17. Chapter 17

**Previously:**

Yui and Otr looked to the side and saw the male elf Yui met before she ran into Otr.

"Who are you?" Otr asked the elf.

"Relax, dwarf, I met this little human earlier today when she was looking for a way to remove that curse of hers." The elf explained as he got closer. "And look at you now, your clothes are bloody and you look even more weak than before."

"The ice has spread." Yui explained. "Fafnir's blood healed my wound but did nothing to the curse."

"Blood? The dragon Fafnir's blood?" The elf asked in surprise.

"Yes." Yui answered him. "I have some of it in this bottle."

"You're a brave one, that's for sure. You must be really desperate if you entered the dragon's cave willingly. Give me that bottle and I'll do something for you."

Before Yui could answer, Otr spoke up. "No way! If she receives more wounds because of the curse she is going to need that blood."

"That's too bad, I was hoping I could have some of it since dragon blood is so difficult to get a hold on."

Yui thought for a moment and turned to the elf. "Can you make portals?"

Otr and the elf turned to look at her.

"Yes, I can."

 **Now:**

"Is it possible to connect it to the portal in my cottage?"

"It's possible if the portal in the cottage belongs to you. But I will need a little of your blood to connect the portal I make with the one in your cottage."

"I understand. Will you accept half of the blood in this bottle in exchange for a portal?"

"Yui-san." Otr uttered.

The elf smirked at her. "I accept."

"Thank you. How much of my blood do you need?"

"Just a little." The elf said and kneeled down beside Yui. "Give me your hand."

Yui held out her hand to the elf who then grabbed her finger and brought it to his mouth. And bit it.

"What the hell!" Otr exclaimed.

"Calm yourself, she hardly even felt it. Now, be a good dwarf and pour half of the dragon's blood in this bottle." The elf told him and threw a bottle made of wood at his feet.

Otr picked it up and threw a look at Yui.

"It's alright, Otr-san." Yui smiled at him.

The elf then took out a piece of white cloth and held against her bleeding finger.

"What's your name? I don't think I asked when we first met." Yui asked.

"My name is Einar, the female elf you met before is Astrid."

"She was very kind."

"Indeed. There, we're done." Einar said before he removed the cloth, folded it and brought it close to his mouth and started whispering words Yui couldn't quite make out. It sounded like a chant of some kind.

Then, the cloth disappeared from Einar's hands before anyone could blink and in front of the elf appeared a big, floating, round-shaped white light. "There you go. You can only use this portal once but it will take you home." Einar explained before he turned to the dwarf. "The blood, please."

Otr seemed hesitant but gave him the wooden bottle anyway. This was Yui's choice after all.

Yui stood up slowly, careful not to reopen the wound. "Thank you, Einar-san."

"My pleasure, Yui-san." Einar grinned, pleased with the blood given to him. It was a good deal.

Yui turned to Otr. "Thanks for everything, I'm afraid I have to go now."

"Don't die, alright. I won't forgive you if you do." He was holding out the bottle for her.

"I won't give up, I can promise you that." She smiled down at him and took the bottle. She was just about to turn around and walk towards the portal when a hand on her arm stopped her. "Otr-san?"

Before she knew it, Otr had placed his lips on her hand.

"O-Otr-san?" She stuttered, clearly surprised by his actions.

Otr let go of her hand and looked her in the eye. "Come visit me, alright?"

"... Y-yeah, of course…"

Then she walked up to the portal. "Thank you both, I'll never forget you."

"Come and make a deal with me any time you want, my dear." Einar said while playing with the bottle in his hand.

Yui smiled at them before she took a step inside the portal and disappeared. The portal itself disappeared soon after.

Einar looked down at the dwarf. "A human, huh? Don't get your hopes up, she lives with the gods and probably has many admirers already. Besides, she probably won't last long."

"... Don't underestimate her." Was Otr's reply before he changed into an otter and ran off.

* * *

Yui felt relieved when she found herself back in her cottage, now she wouldn't have to explain where she had been if she had walked into the village instead. If anyone asked she could just tell them she was in the human world. ' _I really need to change clothes, my sweater is so bloody._ ' She thought and went to her wardrobe. She needed something that could hide the line of ice right below her throat or else everyone would see it. She didn't have much to choose from though, most of her clothes were kind of "revealing" but she did have a long dress that would cover at least half of her throat. It was a light pink one and its sleeves went down to her elbows. So as long as the ice didn't travel down her arms she would be alright.

It hurt to move, even if the star Regin had made for her relieved some of the pain.

When she finally had managed to change she was exhausted and a little sweat was running down her forehead. "That was hard…" She sighed to herself. "I can hardly even put on my clothes anymore and I've only been cursed for two days now."

She looked outside the window and noticed it was slowly getting darker. She had been gone all day. ' _I hope I haven't made everyone worried._ '

She now had two things she needed to think about. One, get some well needed sleep before continuing her search. Two, show herself to her friends so they won't think she's avoiding them.

It was a hard decision, even with Regin's star she didn't know how her body would react if the ice started spreading while she was with her friends. Could she risk it? But then again, they would definitely wonder if something was wrong if she didn't show herself, especially if she fell asleep now and left again as soon as she woke up. Then she wouldn't have had any contact with anyone for almost two whole days and they wouldn't know where she had been either. If she stays away for too long they will worry and go search for her. She wanted them to think she was doing just fine, not thinking she was hiding something.

She made her decision, she was going to see her friends.

* * *

As she was walking down the road she was greeted by a few gods and goddesses. None of them asked anything, they just said hello and continued their evening. ' _So far so good._ ' She thought in relief.

" _My little flower!_ " She heard someone call from behind her and turned around.

Freyja was running towards her and walking behind her were Dionysus and Hades.

"Hello, Freyja-san!" Yui greeted as cheerfully as she could.

Freyja was smiling widely as she ran. She was ready to throw her arms around Yui the moment she reached her, Yui could tell. But she couldn't allow that to happen, too much pressure on the ice and she would start bleeding again. She didn't have the dragon blood with her either, she had put it inside her wardrobe to hide it before she headed outside.

"Where have you been all da-! ?"

"Wait, Freyja-san!"

Freyja froze right in front of her. "Huh? What?"

"I- uhh, I'm not feeling so good right now, so…"

"You're unwell?" Freyja asked, a little surprised.

' _Oh no, what should I tell her?_ '

Hades and Dionysus had caught up to them by now. "What was that? Are you sick?" Dionysus asked.

Yui smiled innocently at him. "I think I have a cold, so it's nothing serious. But I am feeling a little tired."

"Then you should rest, you have been in the human world all day, right?" Hades asked out of concern.

"That's right, I just thought I should at least visit you today before I head home."

"How thoughtful of you, Yui-san!" Freyja giggled. "Always thinking about others."

" _Look who's back!_ " A familiar voice called from somewhere above. The owner of the voice then landed behind Yui and placed a hand on top of her head. "What have you been up to all day? Having fun without me?" Loki grinned down at her.

"Loki-san!" Yui exclaimed in surprise.

"She has been in the human world." Freyja informed him. "She just wanted to see us before she's going to return home and rest because she's coming down with a cold."

"A cold? Must be because you were playing in the snow with the kid, right?" Loki smirked.

When Loki mentioned the boy Yui couldn't hide her sadness. If only they knew they both were in serious trouble.

"Kusanagi-san?" Dionysus uttered.

"Are you alright?" Hades asked.

"Umm, yes, I'm fine." Yui replied. "I'm just trying to get over it. He's where he belongs now." ' _Not…_ '

Loki grabbed her hand. "That's right, and now that- Holy-! Why is your hand so cold? !"

Yui had completely forgotten that her body temperature had dropped dramatically since she got cursed and quickly pulled away from Loki's warm hand. "It-It must be because I'm sick right now, so I better get home and warm up!"

Loki blinked at her.

"Good idea, we don't want you to walk around when you're not feeling well." Hades agreed.

"Come see us again when you feel better, alright? We will inform the others about your condition so no one will bother you." Freyja told her.

"Thank you, guys. See you later." Yui smiled and turned to walk back the same way she came from.

Loki stared after her as she slowly disappeared out of sight.

"Loki? Are you coming with us or are you just going to stand there?" Dionysus asked.

"She was cold." Was his only reply.

"Obviously! She is coming down with a cold, remember?" Freyja pointed out.

"Her nose isn't running, she hasn't a cough and nothing seems to be wrong with her throat."

"Since when did you become an expert on symptoms?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Look, she's going home to rest. She'll feel better in no time." Hades said calmly.

"Right, I don't think we have to worry, let's just go tell the others." Dionysus agreed and turned to walk away.

Hades and Freyja followed close behind.

"Come on, Loki… Loki?" Freyja said and turned around to see why he wasn't following.

"Aaaand he's gone…" Dionysus sighed.

* * *

' _That was close!_ ' Yui thought as she closed the door behind her. But at least they understood and perhaps they really would leave her alone for awhile. Now she could read more about the mythological creatures in peace, _**after**_ she had slept for awhile. But there was one tiny little problem, she didn't have any useful books in her cottage. The ones she needed were in Odin's castle and she couldn't go there because everyone is thinking she's going to rest at home. She couldn't just go outside right after she had told them she wasn't feeling well.

 _ **Knock knock knock**_

Yui turned around and stared at the door. ' _So much for being left alone…_ ' She grabbed the furry blanket from her couch and wrapped it around her cold body before she went to answer the door.

When she had opened it she found herself face to face with Loki.

"Loki-san?"

"Kitten."

"... Do you need something?"

"You sure you're alright?"

' _He came here to make sure I'm okay?_ ' "Yes, I really think I'm just coming down with a cold. There's nothing to worry about."

Loki dropped his serious look and smirked down at her. "Oh I don't know," He said and touched her cheek with his right hand. "you look like you need me to take care of you."

Yui's face turned red and she didn't know how to respond.

"Your face is red, is it because of the cold or because of me?" He teased her.

"Um-I-I-Uh-!" She stuttered.

Loki burst out laughing. "I'm just playing with you, you don't have to get so nervous!"

After that, he walked right past her and entered the cottage, leaving her alone in the doorway. ' _... Stupid Loki-san…_ ' She thought and closed the door. ' _I don't like it… Playing with my feelings when I'm like this… I wonder what he would do or say if he knew I was dying?_ '

"Why are you here, Loki-san?" She asked as she made her way over to the couch where he was sitting.

"Oh, me? I'm trying to be a good friend here. You're sick, aren't you?" He grinned back at her.

Yui only sighed, turned to her left and walked towards the bedroom. "Thank you for being so thoughtful, I'm going to bed now."

She couldn't deal with this right now, her body was hurting, she was freezing, she hadn't come up with a new plan yet and because Loki was there, her heart hurt too and unfortunately, it wasn't because of the ice…

A hand on her shoulder made her freeze. "Look, I know you're not feeling well." Loki said. "But, are you sure it's because of a cold?"

At first Yui didn't know how to answer him. He had a pretty firm grip on her left shoulder, the one that had a line of ice over it. And it freaking hurt! He was unknowingly making the ice tear on her skin, not much but it still hurt. She feared she might start bleeding if he didn't remove his hand. "Yes, I'm sure. Maybe it's because of the boy too, I don't know… But I'll be fine once I've slept for awhile."

Loki didn't let go of her shoulder. "That's a relief!" He laughed and squeezed her shoulder a little with his hand.

Yui's whole body became tense, she couldn't let him know he was actually hurting her. "U-Um, Loki-san?"

"Yeah?"

"You came to take care of me, right? There is something you can help me with."

"And that is?"

"Get me some books from the castle."

"Books? I thought you were going to sleep?"

"I am but I need to entertain myself with something once I wake up. And it's pretty relaxing to read before you fall asleep."

Loki sighed and removed his hand from her shoulder. "Fine, what sort of books do you want?"

"The ones about the outcasts, please. They are very interesting to read and perhaps a few about cures and medicine as well."

Loki blinked at her. "You're interested in that?"

"Yes, I can't stop myself from wanting to know more about the world I now live in."

"If you say so." Loki said and turned around to leave. "See you later."

"Yes and thank you! " Yui called after him.

Once he was out Yui hurried inside her bedroom and let the blanket fall from her body and landed on the floor. She inspected her shoulder but couldn't see any blood on the fabric of her dress and sighed in relief, that was a close one. She moved to open her wardrobe, just to make sure the bottle of dragon blood was still there in case she needed it.

It was right where she had left it.

She closed the wardrobe again and walked over to her bed. ' _I really should sleep…_ ' She thought and carefully sat down but she would have to wait for Loki to come back with the books.

* * *

It wasn't very hard for Loki to find the books Yui wanted but it really was strange. Why would she want to read about the outcasts and medicine? She never seemed to be interested in them before.

"Alright, that should be enough." He sighed and put the books on the table. 5 books about mythological creatures and 2 about medicine.

Apollon, Balder and Tsukito entered the room.

"Hello, Loki-Loki!" Apollon greeted cheerfully.

"What are you doing in here?" Balder asked.

"Playing servant." Loki answered.

"... What?" Both Apollon and Balder asked in unison.

"Loki Laevatein, I don't think now is a good time to play." Tsukito pointed out.

"I'm bringing Kitten these books. She's not feeling well and wanted to read and rest."

"Yeah, uncle just told us about it." Apollon remembered.

"How is she?" Balder asked.

Loki picked up the books from the table. "She seems fine but looks tired, her hands were very cold, too."

"Poor Fairy, I hope she feels better soon." Apollon said.

"Yeah." Was Loki's reply before he walked towards them to leave.

"She wants to read all of those?" Balder asked as he and the other two followed Loki out from the room.

"For some reason she wanted to read about the outcasts of our worlds and medicine."

Apollon stopped in his tracks. "She does? Why?"

"She just said it interested her."

"Interesting combination." Tsukito uttered.

"Indeed, indeed." Apollon agreed. "Why the sudden interest?"

"That's what I was wondering as well." Loki said. "She doesn't have any symptoms of a cold."

"Really?" Apollon asked. "But uncle told us she told you she thought she was coming down with a cold."

"Look, it's probably nothing. Even if it isn't a cold she's still unwell, right? Perhaps she doesn't know what it is she's coming down with herself and just assumed it's a cold. I'm sure we'll find out what it is soon." Balder calmed his friends.

"You are probably right, Balder." Loki said. "I'm going to give her these books and let her rest."

"That's good, Loki-Loki." Apollon smiled. "You really do care after all." Balder pointed out. "Loki Laevatein is very thoughtful." Tsukito added.

" _After_ I have had some fun with her!" Loki grinned and picked up the pace.

His three friends stopped in their tracks and stared after him with their mouths open.

"Loki-Loki!" Apollon called after him as they started running.

"I don't think that's what Yui-san needs right now!" Balder shouted.

"Loki Laevatein is not a thoughtful god." Tsukito stated.

 **A/N: Aaaand done! Yui is getting worse and 4 of her friends are heading for her home, what's going to happen next? ;) Find out when next chapter is out (in about 2-4 days)!**


	18. Chapter 18

**Previously:**

"Look, it's probably nothing. Even if it isn't a cold she's still unwell, right? Perhaps she doesn't know what it is she's coming down with herself and just assumed it's a cold. I'm sure we'll find out what it is soon." Balder calmed his friends.

"You are probably right, Balder." Loki said. "I'm going to give her these books and let her rest."

"That's good, Loki-Loki." Apollon smiled. "You really do care after all." Balder pointed out. "Loki Laevatein is very thoughtful." Tsukito added.

" _After_ I have had some fun with her!" Loki grinned and picked up the pace.

His three friends stopped in their tracks and stared after him with their mouths open.

"Loki-Loki!" Apollon called after him as they started running.

"I don't think that's what Yui-san needs right now!" Balder shouted.

"Loki Laevatein is not a thoughtful god." Tsukito stated.

 **Now:**

Yui wasn't feeling good, she wasn't feeling good at all. She felt dizzy, weak and tired. The moment she sat down on the bed an uncomfortable feeling washed over her and she couldn't stand back up. She had been so motivated before she was able to continue on but now, it felt like all of her energy was leaving her body. ' _Is it because I'm starting to lose hope?_ ' She thought. She was just sitting quietly on the bed with her eyes closed and tried to focus on taking deep breaths.

" _ **Having**_ _**a hard time?**_ "

Startled, Yui opened her eyes. She had almost forgotten she and Sisyphus were connected and could talk to her through telepathy. "Sisyphus." Was all she could get out.

" _ **No luck in finding a cure I see, and you're running out of time.**_ "

"Go away."

" _ **Now, now, don't be like that, sweetheart. You should be proud you were actually able to find people who were willing to help you.**_ "

Yui chose not to comment on that. There was something far more important she wanted to talk to him about. "... The boy, how is he?"

" _ **He looks cold but other than that he's fine. For now. I'm getting tired of him so you better hurry.**_ "

"Please, can't you let him go? He's just a child."

" _ **Not gonna happen, it's way too much fun watching you fight so desperately for him. Meeting with a dragon was a really bold move and almost got you killed after all.**_ "

"Listen to me, I know things didn't end up the way you wanted before when you were still human but why must you take your anger out on others?"

" _ **...**_ "

"Getting jealous of me for being allowed to live here is not an excuse for wanting to kill me."

" _ **...**_ "

"I know you were a king before and could basically do whatever you wanted but that's not how the world works. You can't just point at something and expect to get it without having to work for it. I wouldn't have been allowed to live here myself if I didn't deserve it."

" _ **I'm getting tired of your voice, Yui. Trying to make me change my mind won't work. Enjoy the time you have left before it's too late.**_ "

Then the connection broke.

Good timing, because the front door just opened and Yui had to hurry and clear her thoughts. ' _Loki-san must be back with the books._ ' She was getting a headache now too and felt like throwing up.

" _Loki-Loki, don't do anything stupid!"_

" _Think about how Yui-san feels!"_

" _She needs to rest."_

' _Three voices… he brought company._ ' Yui thought.

A second later Loki ran into her bedroom with all of the books. "Hellooo Kitten! Your servant here has brought you- What the hell? You alright?"

Apollon, Balder and Tsukito hurried after him into the room.

Yui looked up at them from where she was sitting on the bed with tired eyes. "I'm alright."

"Oh no you're **not** alright." Balder frowned and walked up to her while Loki placed the books on the floor.

"Fairy, you look so pale." Apollon said, concerned.

"And tired." Tsukito added.

Balder caressed her hair gently and Loki moved to stand in front of her. Yui looked up at the god of fire, unsure of what to say.

"You look worse than you did before." Loki pointed out.

"I feel sick to my stomach." Yui admitted.

"I go get water." Tsukito offered and turned to leave. Apollon followed him. "And I go get a bucket in case you have to throw up."

Yui smiled at them as they left. "Thank you."

"Anything else you need?" Balder asked.

Yui thought for a moment. "Umm, if it's not too much trouble, a cup of tea would be nice."

"Of course." Balder smiled down at her. "I'll go make it right away."

Once Balder had left it was only Yui and Loki left in the room.

"Thanks for the books, Loki-san. Now I have something to do while I'm sick."

"No problem Kitten." Loki said and took her hand in his. "It feels like you're getting colder."

"..." Yui didn't know how to answer to that.

Then, Loki placed his other hand on her cheek. "Seems like your whole body is cold."

Yui started blushing, then she smiled and leaned against his hand as she closed her eyes. "But you're warm."

Loki's eyes widened a little but he didn't remove his hand.

"Am I interrupting?"

Yui opened her eyes and Loki looked to the side and saw Tsukito in the doorway with a glass of water and quickly let go of her.

"Of course not, why would you think that?" Loki asked sarcastically.

"You just seemed rather comfortable with each other." Tsukito stated calmly.

Loki's face almost turned red from embarrassment. "I was just checking her temperature!" Apollon and Balder entered the room. "There's no way I would have touched her otherwise!"

The room got uncomfortably quiet.

"Umm, the tea is almost ready…" Balder informed awkwardly.

Apollon rubbed his head with his free hand. "And… here's the bucket…"

Tsukito walked up to Yui and held out the glass. "Here you go."

Yui tried her best to smile and took the glass from him. "Thank you, Tsukito-san…"

A minute passed before Balder broke the silence. "I go check on the tea!"

"Y-Yeah, you do that!" Apollon smiled uncomfortably.

Yui threw a look at Loki but noticed he was looking away from her and looked down at the floor. Tsukito noticed this and took out a hair pin with cherry blossoms from his kimono and placed it in her hair, making her look up at him in confusion. Apollon and Loki turned to look at them. "You look pretty, Kusanagi Yui." Tsukito said with a small smile.

This made Yui blush, he was trying to cheer her up. She touched the hair pin gently and smiled. "It's for me?"

"I took it with me because I thought it would look good on you."

"That's so sweet of you."

For some reason Loki didn't like what he saw and frowned at the two.

Balder then came back with the tea. "It's done no- ...Wow, you look so beautiful in that, Yui-san!" He exclaimed when he saw her.

"She does, she does!" Apollon agreed. "Tsuki-Tsuki gave it to her!"

The sweet moment didn't last longer than that because a familiar and very painful sensation washed over the human woman on the bed. She tried to stand up as elegantly as she could and looked at her friends. "Thank you so much for everything guys but… I really feel like I need to sleep now."

"Oh! Of course, Yui-san!" Balder exclaimed.

Apollon grabbed Tsukito's arm and pulled him towards the bedroom door. "Get well soon, Fairy!"

"I will, thanks again." She smiled at them.

Loki followed his friends as they left but looked a little sceptical. He could have sworn he saw fear in Yui's eyes for a second before she stood and asked them to leave. He also noticed she rose from the bed pretty carefully, as if it was painful to move or something.

Yui continued to smile and followed them to the front door and waved at them as they walked down the road. Then she closed the door, turned around and leaned against it for support. The ice was spreading, but thanks to the star-shaped stone Regin had made for her she was able to handle the pain better. She still had to force herself to stay focused, though. Once the ice stopped moving she could point out exactly where it was. The one on her stomach had passed right over her belly button and had continued down sideways a few inches towards the left side of her waist. The line that went under her armpit and continued towards her back had stopped right after it had passed her spine. The one on her left shoulder had continued down her shoulder blade and had become one with the line that was already there and then continued down a few inches. And the last line right below her throat was now, sadly, at a place where everyone could see it. It had traveled all the way up her throat, went a little sideways and stopped right below her left cheek. She would have to wear a scarf from now on if she didn't want the others to see but she knew it would be almost impossible to hide it once it had traveled up her cheek.

' _Thank goodness they left before they saw it spread._ ' She thought and slowly walked towards her bedroom. ' _First I'm going to read a little, then I'm going to sleep and then I'm leaving._ '

* * *

The next day, when it was still pretty dark outside, Yui had left the village once again. She was wearing the same dress as yesterday but this time a black and pretty thin scarf was covering her neck and throat. And this time, she didn't forget the necklace Zeus had given her so she could teleport herself home. She was heading for the same forest she had met the elves and Otr, hoping she could find Einar again and ask for his help. With her, in the pocket of her dress, were two small bottles. One contained just a quarter of the dragon's blood she had brought home with her, in the other bottle was the rest.

Two things had caught her interest while she was reading yesterday. The Greek goddess she had read about before, the one with healing powers, didn't seem to have any connection with other gods. Her name was Iaso and she was the Greek goddess of recuperation from illness. Perhaps she could help her in some way? The other thing was the Centaur named Chiron. Centaurs had the upper body of a human and the lower body of a horse and were known to be wild and violent but the one named Chiron was kind and known for his knowledge and skill with medicine. At least that was what she had read about him. They were her only hope right now but to get to them she would need a portal that could take her to the Greek gods and Einar was just the right elf to do it. If he accepted her payment that is…

She looked pretty stiff as she walked, the ice around her body made sure of it. She wanted to find him as quickly as possible but sadly, she was unable to walk any faster and if she overworked herself she would start bleeding again.

When she finally made it to the forest the sun was up and she felt exhausted. Now she would have to enter and hope Einar was close by. ' _Oh no, I'm getting dizzy…_ ' Yui thought and tried to walk towards a tree so she could support herself but soon found herself falling backwards instead.

Two strong arms caught her from behind and she groaned out of pain as she felt pressure on the ice.

"You don't look well." The one who had caught her said.

Yui smiled weakly when she realised who it was. "Einar-...san…" She whispered, trying her best to keep her eyes open.

Einar picked her up in his arms carefully so he wouldn't harm her any further. "Forgive me, let me take you inside."

* * *

Yui was sitting on a wooden chair inside a cottage in the middle of the summer part of the forest. She didn't remember how they got there because she was half unconscious the whole way, she only regained consciousness once Einar brought her inside his home. It wasn't a big cottage, it was definitely smaller than hers but it still seemed cozy.

"Here you go." Einar said and gave her a glass of water.

"Thank you." Yui smiled and brought the glass to her lips.

Einar took another chair and placed it in front of her before he sat down on it. "Since you're back already I figured you've gotten worse."

"Yes… It started spreading not long after I returned home yesterday. I was lucky none of my friends saw it."

"I see. I'm surprised you were able to come all the way back here, you didn't look well at all."

Yui removed the scarf from her throat. "If it goes any higher I won't be able to hide it…"

Einar reached out his hand and pushed away some of her hair so he could have a better look. "Is it hard to breath?"

"Yes, the ice is restraining me, too."

"I don't wish to scare you but, it doesn't look like you have much time left."

"I know, I can feel my body giving up."

"Are you giving up?"

"No, if I was I wouldn't be here right now." She answered and took out one of the bottles from her pocket. "If this is enough, I would like another portal, to the world of the Greek gods."

Einar stared at her for a moment. "It's not good for you to travel in this state. What are you hoping to find?"

"The Greek goddess Iaso and the centaur named Chiron."

"Can they help you?"

"I only know that they're good with medicine and healing. If I can find them, I can ask."

Einar thought for awhile, then he took the bottle from her and stood up. "The goddess Iaso lives in the forest, like us elves, the portal I make will take you to her house."

Yui looked surprised but happy he was willing to help her again. "Thank you so much, Einar-san."

As Einar prepared a portal Yui struggled to get up from the chair.

"Be careful." Einar said as the human woman slowly made her way towards the portal.

"I will." She replied and was just about to step through the portal when the elf stopped her. "Wait."

Yui turned to look at him.

Einar walked over to his bookshelf, pushed a book out of the way and grabbed something behind it. Then he turned around and walked back to Yui, who was looking at him in confusion "Take this."

"What is it?" Yui asked as she took it from him. It looked like a red piece of candy.

"You will be able to teleport yourself anywhere you want with that. Just think of the place where you want to go and swallow it."

"Einar-san… you're really giving me this?"

"If going to the world of the Greek gods doesn't work out for you you can at least go to one more place."

Yui's eyes began to tear up. "Thank you…"

"Don't mention it, just go."

Yui threw one last smile at him before she turned around and stepped through the portal, leaving Einar alone in the cottage.

* * *

It was a beautiful forest Yui had ended up in and a warm feeling washed over her as she looked around. The environment reminded her of earth and it made her calm. When she turned around she came face to face with a house of stone, in fact, she was just about 4 yards from the front door. She had barely studied it for a few seconds when the door opened, revealing who Yui thought was the goddess she was looking for.

The goddess was staring at her in surprise and with her mouth slightly open.

Yui took a good look at the woman as well, she was wearing a white dress and had shoulder-length dark brown hair. She could imagine why the goddess was surprised to see her standing there right in front of her house.

"Who are you?" The goddess asked before Yui had time to introduce herself.

"Umm, I'm sorry, my name is Yui. I'm a human who lives with the Norse gods."

"Alright… and why are you here? Just when I was looking out the window I saw you appear through a portal."

"It's a long story but I came here to seek your help, Iaso-san."

Iaso's eyes traveled down a little and noticed the ice on Yui's throat. Yui had forgotten to wrap the scarf around her neck when she left Einar's cottage, instead it was hanging around her shoulders. "That thing on your throat…"

"I know, that's why I've come to see you."

"Come inside." Iaso told her and walked back into the house, leaving the door open for Yui to follow.

Yui followed the goddess inside and closed the door behind her. When she looked to her right she found Iaso on a chair in the kitchen. "Thank you for having me, Iaso-san." Yui thanked her as she made her way over to her.

"You look like you're about to collapse any moment now, are you alright?" Iaso asked and motioned her to a chair.

Yui sat down carefully before she answered her. "I don't have much time left I'm afraid. I've been cursed."

"I can see that. Who cursed you, Yui-san?"

"I think you might have heard of him, his name is Sisyphus."

Iaso looked shocked. "Sisyphus? Sisyphus is the one who cursed you? Are you sure?"

"Positive."

Iaso moved her chair closer to Yui and took her hand in hers and was just about to say something when she noticed how cold she was. "You are really cold."

"And you're warm, it feels good." Yui answered with a small smile as she looked down at her hands.

"Please, tell me your story."

* * *

Yui stood in front of Iaso, naked, as the goddess studied her ice-covered body. After she had told her everything that had happened Iaso had asked her if she could have a look at her, to see if there was anything she could do and Yui had to remove her dress so she could have a proper look. "I'm sorry, Yui-san, you're already so cold and now you're forced to stand here like this."

"Don't… worry about it." Yui smiled awkwardly. At the moment she was more embarrassed about the fact that she was standing in front of a stranger, completely exposed.

Iaso walked around Yui as she looked at her body, seeing just how much the ice had spread over her skin. At first she only looked but then she started touching the skin close to the ice and Yui fidgeted away from her, knowing her skin would crack if she continued touching it like that. "Did I hurt you?"

Yui looked down at the floor. "My skin cracks easily…"

"Alright, I won't touch you like that again. I don't know if there's anything I can do but I have some medicine we can try if you're up for it?"

Yui didn't have to think for long. "Alright."

"You sure? Some of it can cause pain and seeing you're already suffering I don't know if it's a good idea."

"I'm willing to try anything. Please, this is my decision so you don't have to take responsibility for it. It's just that-..." Tears began to form in Yui's eyes when she remembered the people she cared so much about. "I don't want to leave my friends!" The tears started falling and she tried to wipe them away the best she could. "I don't want to leave them behind and I want to bring the little boy home to his parents!"

Iaso looked at Yui who was having a breakdown with concern. She moved to grab a thin blanket and held it out to the crying girl. "Here, I'll go prepare the medicine."

Yui took the blanket and wrapped it carefully around her freezing body. "Thank you…"

Yui waited on the couch for about 20 minutes before Iaso came back with 8 bottles, all containing some kind of salve in different colors.

"We'll try this one first." Iaso said, holding the green one in her hand.

Yui's eyes were still red from the crying but she managed to force herself to smile and let the blanket fall from her shoulders. "Do you want me to sit or stand?"

"You just sit down and try to take deep breaths. I need to put this over the core of the ice, so we have to remove that star-shaped stone you got from the dwarves."

Yui seemed hesitant, it was made so she wouldn't have to feel the same amount of pain she would have felt without it. It was already taking away some of the pain and she didn't want to know how it felt now when the ice had spread so much. "I guess it can't be helped." She sighed and slowly grabbed the stone with two fingers.

"Do you need help?"

"No, I think I've got it."

Yui pulled at it and when it came off she placed it on the couch beside her. The pain didn't come immediately but after a few seconds it hit her, _**hard**_ , and Yui thought she was going to die. The pain was more intense than she had thought it would be and it was really hard to stay focused.

"Is it that bad?" Iaso asked.

"It feels like… my body is breaking." Even if the ice wasn't spreading right now she still had to feel the damage the ice had caused on her body. Apparently, the stone had freed her from more pain than she thought it had.

"You still want to do it?"

"Y-Yes…"

Iaso opened the bottle and put some of the green salve on two of her fingers, then she moved them towards the snowflake over Yui's heart. Once she made contact Yui fidgeted and she had to cover her mouth with her hand so she wouldn't scream out of pain.

Iaso continued to put on salve until the snowflake was covered. The salve then slowly sank into the ice and disappeared. "Now we wait."

Yui stayed with Iaso for several hours, trying all of the 8 salves but none of them seemed to work on the ice. After each salve they had waited 30 minutes before they tried the next one. Honestly, it had caused more damage than good. Yui was leaning against the couch, feeling very sick and exhausted and her skin was pale. Her eyes seemed cloudy as well.

"We shouldn't try anything else, you're only getting worse, Yui-san." Iaso informed and put the bottles away. "None of the salves worked."

"I have to… keep trying… or else I-" Yui got quiet after that.

"Rest for now, alright? You need all the energy you can get and it would be too dangerous for you to move around right now."

Iaso didn't even get to finish the sentence before Yui had fallen asleep out of exhaustion, this was too much for her and her body had finally given up. The goddess just hoped Yui was strong enough to wake up again, or this would be the last time she closed her eyes.

 **A/N: Will Yui wake up again? You'll find out in about 3 days or so! ^_^**


	19. Chapter 19

**Previously:**

Iaso continued to put on salve until the snowflake was covered. The salve then slowly sank into the ice and disappeared. "Now we wait."

Yui stayed with Iaso for several hours, trying all of the 8 salves but none of them seemed to work on the ice. After each salve they had waited 30 minutes before they tried the next one. Honestly, it had caused more damage than good. Yui was leaning against the couch, feeling very sick and exhausted and her skin was pale. Her eyes seemed cloudy as well.

"We shouldn't try anything else, you're only getting worse, Yui-san." Iaso informed and put the bottles away. "None of the salves worked."

"I have to… keep trying… or else I-" Yui got quiet after that.

"Rest for now, alright? You need all the energy you can get and it would be too dangerous for you to move around right now."

Iaso didn't even get to finish the sentence before Yui had fallen asleep out of exhaustion, this was too much for her and her body had finally given up. The goddess just hoped Yui was strong enough to wake up again, or this would be the last time she closed her eyes.

 **Now:**

When Yui finally woke up it was late afternoon, it wasn't very pleasant to wake up and her body was aching all over. Iaso had let her be in the same sitting position she was in when she had fallen asleep, it was too risky to move her into a lying position. The star-shaped stone was back on her chest so some of the endless pain was gone but it still hurt like hell.

She looked down to the side and noticed her dress lying beside her so she carefully stood up from the couch and let the blanket fall from her body. While she was trying to dress herself, Iaso entered the room. "Good, you're up. I was afraid you wouldn't open your eyes again."

"Thanks for putting the stone back and cover me with the blanket." Yui thanked the goddess.

"No problem, but more importantly, how are you feeling?"

"Not good I'm afraid."

"That's understandable."

"Thank you for trying, Iaso-san. What do you want as payment?"

"There's nothing I want Yui-san, helping others in need is what I do. Too bad I couldn't do anything, though. Tell me, do you know anyone else who might be able to lift that curse?"

"Only one."

"And that is?"

"His name is Chiron, I've heard he's known for his knowledge and skill with medicine."

"The centaur?"

"Yes, that's right."

"I have met him a few times. You will most likely find him and other centaurs by the meadow not too far away from here." Iaso explained.

"Thanks for the information, Iaso-san, I won't bother you anymore."

Just as Yui was about to head for the door Iaso stopped her. "I will take you there, you can barely walk on your own."

"Oh, you don't have to do that. I think I'll be fine on my own."

"I insist, I know the way and with my support you'll get there faster. Besides, I'm a goddess, I can teleport us there you know."

Yui's eyes widened. ' _That's right, she's a goddess!_ ' "If… if you don't mind?"

"Of course not, let's go." Iaso smiled and grabbed Yui's hand to connect them to each other and then they disappeared.

When Yui opened her eyes she and Iaso were standing in the middle of the meadow Iaso was talking about. But there were no centaurs anywhere. "Iaso-san, is this the place?"

"Yes, there's no mistake."

"But where is-?"

"Can't you hear it?"

Yui listened but couldn't hear anything at first but then, a faint rumbling sound echoed through the meadow and it was getting louder and louder. When she listened more closely she could hear exactly what it was. "Hooves?"

"Here they come." Iaso smiled.

And in the next moment a big herd of centaurs were heading their way, fast. If Yui hadn't been in so much pain she would have tried to get out of the way. Thankfully, Iaso seemed calm and just stood there, waiting for the centaurs to get closer.

"Just stay quiet and let me do the talking." Iaso informed. "Centaurs are known to be wild and in your condition it wouldn't be good if they suddenly decided to approach you."

"Alright." Yui wasn't about to argue with that, even if she was desperate to find a cure.

There were at least 20 centaurs heading their way and they showed no signs of stopping. Were they just going to run them over?

Yui closed her eyes and waited for the impact. It never came. Instead it got quiet and she dared to open her eyes again.

A horse body was the first thing she saw once her eyes were open. She turned her head to the side, the centaurs were standing around her and Iaso in a circle and when her eyes traveled up she saw well-looking men and women staring down at them. She also noticed that if one centaur's body was black, then the hair on its head had the same color. She had never seen such different yet beautiful creatures before, they were really fascinating to look at.

The male centaur with a white horse body had been staring at her the entire time and Yui was starting to feel uncomfortable. Then he turned to Iaso. "You, goddess, what are you doing in our territory?"

"Forgive us but we've come here to look for Chiron." Iaso explained.

"Chiron is tending to a sick foal right now. What do you want with him, goddess?"

"It is not I who need him." Iaso said and turned to Yui. "It is she who needs him."

The centaur turned to Yui once again. "You are a human aren't you? Tell me why you seek Chiron."

Yui took a step forward. "My name is Yui and-"

A female centaur noticed the ice on her. "What's that on your throat?"

"... I… I got cursed by Sisyphus. The thing on my throat is ice and it's spreading over my body. I will die soon if I can't find a cure, that's why I've come here to seek help from Chiron." Yui explained.

"Interesting." A male centaur with grey hair said and started to approach her to get a closer look but Iaso put herself in front of Yui to shield her from him. "You can't touch her. She's very weak and fragile, if you put too much pressure on the ice it will tear on her skin and she will start bleeding." She explained to the centaur.

The white centaur took a step forward and pushed the grey one out of the way before he turned to the human. "Yui, was it?"

"Yes."

"I believe you, I don't believe you have come here to take advantage of Chiron and therefore I will let you see him."

Before Yui could answer him another male centaur spoke. "How can you be so sure of her?"

"She wouldn't have come here if she wasn't desperate. To a human, our kind can be very dangerous. A human like her is no threat to us and besides, it isn't every day we get to see a human wandering around in the world of the gods."

"Thank you for believing me." Yui smiled up at him and Iaso moved out of the way.

"My name is Alexandro." He introduced himself and bent down a little so he could shake her hand, she wouldn't be able to reach otherwise.

Yui gladly accepted his hand and shook it. Even if he was trying to be gentle she could still feel the ice tearing on her skin when she moved.

"You do indeed look like you're unwell." Alexandro pointed out once they had let go of each other.

"It's only getting worse I'm afraid." Yui answered honestly.

Right after she had finished the sentence, the ice started spreading again and Yui dropped down to her knees and screamed. Iaso, who dropped down as well, touched Yui's bad shoulder without thinking, causing her to cry out and pleaded for her to stop. But by the time Iaso had removed her hand from her the shoulder was already bleeding and Yui was at the verge of fainting. The centaurs looked on in panic and confusion and started to move away from the screaming human and the goddess, only Alexandro remained. Some even stormed away from the unpleasant scene. "What do we do? !" Alexandro shouted between Yui's screams.

"We have to take her to Chiron!" Iaso cried out.

"Jump on!" Alexandro ordered and bent down low enough for the two women to get on his horseback.

Iaso managed to get Yui to sit on Alexandro's back and sat down behind her so she could keep her from falling off.

Yui barely knew what was going on anymore and when everything got blurry it didn't take long before she fell unconscious.

* * *

' _It's so soft. I don't want this feeling to end…_ ' Yui thought in her dream-like state.

"Yui-san!"

' _Who's that?_ '

"Yui!"

' _And that?_ '

"It's time to wake up now, young human."

' _Who are these people? I don't recognize their voices…_ '

"Yui-san, you really need to wake up or you might never wake up again!"

' _Never wake up- That's right… Iaso-san… and Alexandro-san._ _I remember now._ '

"Young human, can you hear me?"

In that moment Yui woke up, immediately regretting it because she was met by a very intense pain. It felt just like she wasn't wearing the stone she got from Regin anymore. But that wasn't the worst part, the worst part was that she couldn't open her left eye. The ice on her throat had traveled up her cheek, over her eye and stopped about half an inch above her eyebrow. The one on the left side of her waist had moved down her leg and stopped on the left side of her knee. The third one that had passed her spine had continued up to her right shoulder, then traveled down and stopped about halfway down her arm. The fourth and last that went past her left shoulder blade had moved down a little, then taken a turn, went over her spine and continued a bit further until it had stopped on her right hip. "This is it, isn't it…?" She whispered to herself. She was lying on a soft blanket in the grass, next to her lay the horse body of a brown centaur while the human part of it was putting some kind of medical herbs on the places where her body had cracked due to the ice. On her other side Iaso was sitting and further down by her feet Alexandro was standing, assisting the other centaur with the medicine.

"Don't say that Yui-san, it's not over until it's over." Iaso said calmly.

Yui could feel she wasn't wearing her dress anymore, only two other blankets were covering her more intimate parts of her body. "Where am I?"

"Welcome, young human." The brown centaur smiled. "My name is Chiron. Iaso here told me you were looking for me."

"I told him everything you told me, Yui-san." Iaso informed.

"Chiron-san, you don't have to waste your time on me if you're busy…"

"Don't worry about that, Yui-chan, I have all the time in the world." Chiron answered calmly. "You poor thing, the world hasn't been fair to you. But I must say you're very brave and strong minded for holding out for yourself and that boy."

"But soon it won't matter… I can feel my body dying."

It got quiet after that and in that moment Yui knew Chiron couldn't do anything to save her, no one could. All they could do was ease her pain.

What none of them knew was that in a tree not far away sat two black birds, observing them closely before they croaked at each other and flew away.

"There's one thing I have to tell you." Iaso spoke and held out the stone from Regin above Yui's right eye. "When the ice started spreading the stone cracked and fell off. I'm afraid it doesn't work anymore."

"It's alright, Iaso-san. It was bound to happen sooner or later, Sisyphus's power is too strong." Yui told her and weakly raised her hand to take it from her. "I'll keep it as a memory."

Iaso just smiled down at her. "The thing you got from the elf, you can still travel to one more place, right?"

"I don't know if I have the strength to travel anymore…"

"But if you do, I have a suggestion for you." Chiron informed.

Yui turned her head to the side to look at him.

"In the realm of the Japanese gods, in the snowy mountains, lives a goddess named Yuki-onna."

"Yuki-onna? ! Isn't she more like a ghost than a goddess?" Alexandro exclaimed.

"Not to mention dangerous. I don't think she's interested in helping anyone." Iaso added. "She's the kind of goddess that lures men to their deaths with her beauty."

"But she's a goddess of ice and snow is she not?" Chiron stated. "Perhaps there's a way for her to remove this curse."

"She will kill this girl before she can even ask for her help." Alexandro claimed.

"There has to be another way." Iaso added.

"Yui-chan will most likely die before she can find another way." Chiron told them.

Yui slowly sat up, getting everyone's attention.

"You have to rest, Yui-san!" Iaso exclaimed and tried to make the human lie down again.

But Yui refused. "Iaso-san, please, my dress. I don't like being this exposed…"

"Oh, of course." Iaso grabbed Yui's dress and began helping her get it on. Alexandro and Chiron turned away so she wouldn't feel too uncomfortable.

Once she was dressed she checked her pocket, the bottle was still there and she put the stone in the same pocket. But there was one thing missing, the necklace wasn't hanging around her neck anymore. "My necklace?"

"This one?" Alexandro asked and held it out to her. "We had to take it off when we were treating you."

"Thank you, Alexandro-san." Yui smiled sweetly at him as she put the necklace around her neck. "This is the part where I say goodbye."

The three looked at her in confusion.

"Where are you going?" Alexandro asked. "I can take you there, you know?"

"If there's anything else we can do-..." Chiron added.

"What are you going to do, Yui-san?" Iaso asked.

Yui just smiled at them and grabbed the necklace. "Thank you for everything."

Then she disappeared without a trace, leaving the goddess and the centaurs with their mouths hanging open.

* * *

The moment Yui stepped out from the portal in her room she fell to her knees. ' _What should I do…?_ ' The curse had taken away almost all of her energy, how could she possibly make it to Yuki-onna?

She heard the front door open and in panic she tried to stand up, the ice over her eye was impossible to hide.

"Yui-san?" She could hear Balder call as he and at least two others got closer to the bedroom.

"She's been gone all day." She heard Loki point out.

"And I thought she was supposed to stay in bed?" Takeru added.

It was too late to hide, her friends were already too close. All she could do was to turn around so that she was facing the portal.

Then her friends stepped into the bedroom.

"I know but- Yui-san!" Balder exclaimed when he saw her standing there.

"Hey, Kitten, where have you been? You weren't here when I came to check on you." Loki asked with a frown.

"You're not supposed to move around like that when you're sick!" Takeru added.

"I'm… sorry…" Was all Yui managed to say.

"Hey, Yui-san, is something wrong?" Balder asked, worried.

Loki took a few steps forward. "Why won't you turn around?"

"Don't! Don't come any closer!" Yui suddenly exclaimed, causing Loki to stop dead in his tracks.

"What is wrong with you?" Takeru asked, confused.

"You're acting weird." Loki stated and took another step towards her.

"It's… It's just that…" Yui sobbed as tears began to fall from her one eye.

"Yui-san, are you crying? !" Balder exclaimed and he too started walking towards her, followed by Takeru. "Hey, Weed, we can't help you if you won't-"

"... There's nothing you can do…" Yui whispered.

"I'll be the one to decide that. Now tell me what the hell is going on!" Loki shouted, he was almost right behind her when Yui took one step through the portal and said, "I'm sorry…"

Then she disappeared, leaving her friends behind.

"Yui!" Loki called after her.

"What the hell was that? !" Takeru exclaimed in confusion.

"She wasn't herself, that's for sure." Balder stated.

Loki just stared at the portal.

In the next moment, Tyr came running through the front door and into the bedroom. "Guys!"

The three friends turned around. "What?" Takeru asked.

"Odin needs us!"

"Why? Can't you see we're busy!" Loki shouted.

"Yui-san wasn't acting like herself and refused to look at us." Balder explained. "She just left through the portal."

"Yui-san is the reason Odin and Zeus are gathering us, they will explain later but it's a good thing you didn't look at her."

"And why is that a good thing?" Loki frowned.

"I know just as much as you do, Odin just told me to gather Yui-san's friends and tell them not to try and approach her." Tyr explained.

* * *

When they finally made it to the room where Odin and Zeus had told them to come to Apollon, Hades, Dionysus, Tsukito, Thor, Sif, Freyr, Freyja and Vidar were already there, sitting around a table. Odin and Zeus were standing in front of them and Hugin and Munin were there as well, sitting on Odin's shoulders.

"Alright, we're here, now tell us why we can't get close to Weed." Takeru demanded as he and the rest took the seats beside the others.

"Zeus, what is going on?" Hades asked his brother.

"Is Fairy alright?" Apollon added, worried.

"Tell us already!" Freyja cried out.

"We've got some disturbing news regarding Kusanagi." Zeus said with his eyes closed.

"Hugin and Munin here told me what they had seen when they had found Kusanagi in the world of the Greek gods today." Odin explained.

"What was she doing over there?" Dionysus asked with a raised eyebrow.

"We will come to that." Zeus informed. "But for now, you should know that your friend is in danger and close to death."

The room got quiet before everyone exclaimed, "WHAT! ?" and Apollon, Takeru, Loki, Sif and Freyja rose from their seats. "What the hell are you saying! ?" Loki shouted.

 **A/N: I'm going to be a little busy for a few days, so I'm going to play the devil and leave you with this for about 6-7 days until I post the next chapter. Sorry, don't kill me! ;D**


	20. Chapter 20

**Previously:**

When they finally made it to the room where Odin and Zeus had told them to come to Apollon, Hades, Dionysus, Tsukito, Thor, Sif, Freyr, Freyja and Vidar were already there, sitting around a table. Odin and Zeus were standing in front of them and Hugin and Munin were there as well, sitting on Odin's shoulders.

"Alright, we're here, now tell us why we can't get close to Weed." Takeru demanded as he and the rest took the seats beside the others.

"Zeus, what is going on?" Hades asked his brother.

"Is Fairy alright?" Apollon added, worried.

"Tell us already!" Freyja cried out.

"We've got some disturbing news regarding Kusanagi." Zeus said with his eyes closed.

"Hugin and Munin here told me what they had seen when they had found Kusanagi in the world of the Greek gods today." Odin explained.

"What was she doing over there?" Dionysus asked with a raised eyebrow.

"We will come to that." Zeus informed. "But for now, you should know that your friend is in danger and close to death."

The room got quiet before everyone exclaimed, "WHAT! ?" and Apollon, Takeru, Loki, Sif and Freyja rose from their seats. "What the hell are you saying! ?" Loki shouted.

 **Now:**

"Is this some kind of sick joke? !" Takeru shouted.

"Hurry up and explain! Why is Yui close to death? What happened?" Sif asked.

Zeus slammed his staff in the floor and a floating mirror appeared above him and Odin. That silenced everyone. "Let me show you flashbacks of Kusanagi from the past few days."

Everyone tried to take deep breaths and calm down as their eyes focused on the big mirror that would soon show them a painful truth.

 **Flashback:**

 _The mirror showed Yui and the little boy walking down the road towards Yui's cottage._

" _Come on kid, let's get you home." She told him as she picked him up._

 _Once they were inside her warm cottage she put the kid down and sat down on her knees to help him remove his jacket._

 _She noticed he was staring at something. "What is it?" She asked and looked to the side to see what he was looking at. Her eyes widened and she slowly stood back up and moved so that she was blocking the boy. "Sisyphus… right?"_

 _Sisyphus grinned at her. "Yui… right?"_

 **End of flashback:**

Sif, Freyja and Balder were holding a hand over their mouths, the rest looked at the screen in shock.

"And this happened while we were searching in the mountains?" Tyr asked.

Loki slammed his fists in the table. "Damn it!"

 **Flashback:**

" _What do you want?" Yui asked._

 _Sisyphus laughed and moved to the side. "I wonder… " He sat down in the couch and didn't say anything more._

 _Yui looked like she was thinking about something when suddenly Sisyphus raised his left hand and fired a ball of energy at them. Yui quickly jumped to the side, shoving the kid out of harm's way and the two fell to the floor._

 _Yui managed to pull herself from the floor but she didn't have time to get her arms around the crying boy before Sisyphus suddenly stood right in front of her, trapping her between himself and the wall. "Stupid woman, I noticed right away you were thinking of a plan to escape."_

 _Yui's eyes found the amulet around his neck. "That amulet…it's…"_

 _Sisyphus grinned at her. "So, they have told you about me. Then you should know that I was once human like you. I have heard about you as well, Yui, and I should tell you that I'm not pleased. You see, I escaped the gods' punishments for two reasons. First, I wanted to live, forever to be exact. And second, I wanted to be a god like them so I could live on Mount Olympus with Zeus and be surrounded by gorgeous goddesses for all eternity. I thought that they would eventually think of me as a very cunning man and admire me for it, grant me immortality and make me a god like them. I thought they_ _ **needed**_ _someone like me but instead they sent me down to Hades in the underworld and made me roll that huge boulder up a steep hill over and over again. As the years passed I was beginning to think that it was over for me but then I remembered something they had told me, that I would be free if I could make the boulder stay on top of the hill. So I continued to try, never losing hope. I could feel myself getting stronger every time I rolled the boulder up the hill and finally,_ _ **finally**_ _, the boulder stopped moving. It didn't roll back down again and I was free! Free to do what I wanted with my life! But… I knew that now when my punishment was over I would have to age like any other human. I had been in the underworld for so long I wouldn't have anything to come back to down on earth, I would be alone, I would get old and my muscles I was so proud of would disappear in time. Then it hit me, if I could somehow find something, anything, that belonged to the gods, then perhaps I could use it to make myself one of them. Since they hadn't noticed I had escaped I was able to move freely for a while in Mount Olympus until I found this amulet in a room that was sealed away. No god would have been able to reach it but I was no god, I was human, and I could open the door to the room with ease. I then stole the amulet, knowing it must be powerful since it was sealed away and forced it to turn me into the one thing I always wanted to be."_

" _But it didn't work, right? It turned you into something else…"_

" _That's right, it turned me into a demon, an ice demon. It doesn't matter though, I was immortal and became very powerful. That was good enough for me and before I left I used the staff the amulet had granted me and froze at least half of Olympus. They never saw me again after that."_

" _Then, why have you come back? You were free weren't you? "_

" _I wasn't planning to, Yui. Someone sought me out."_

" _What?"_

" _I didn't think it was possible, I was well hidden in my ice castle very far away from Mount Olympus after all. I guess rumors must have spread over the years and someone was bound to see me eventually. Anyway, someone found my castle and went inside to meet me and told me everything about you."_

" _You have come… for me?"_

" _Bingo! I have come for your life, little human." He was smirking now. He adjusted his hold on the staff and pointed it at her throat with the sharp edge almost touching her skin. "Why were you granted immortality and not me? Zeus was the one who decided, right? He made you immortal!"_

" _P-Please…"_

" _Why? Because you were a friend of a few gods ? ! Because you begged them to let you stay with them? !" Sisyphus's eyes were glowing red and the sharp edge of the staff was touching Yui's throat. "Sisyphus, please listen!"_

 _His eyes stopped glowing. "Now it's my turn to deliver a punishment." He smirked and moved the staff away from her throat and down towards her chest. He pulled the fabric of her dress down less than one inch and pressed the edge slowly through her skin. A moment later the staff started glowing and he removed it from her. "Killing you like this would be too easy, you're not a god, just immortal." Sisyphus pointed out. "I want to see you suffer before you die a slow and cold death." "It won't be long before you freeze to death, that patch of ice will spread both outside and inside your body."_

 _Yui looked too shocked to speak._

" _Let's make this clear, I want you dead but I'm still going to give you a chance to cure yourself, that's fair right? Show me you deserve immortality but know this…" Sisyphus said as he turned away from her and walked over to the little boy and picked him up. "If your so called friends find out about this, then this little human boy will be killed, got it?"_

 _Yui pushed herself away from the wall she was leaning on. "Let him go!"_

 _Then she was back against the wall, Sisyphus was in front of her again and the staff he was holding was stuck in the wall, dangerously close to her head. "Tell them this, you went to the human world and delivered the child like you were supposed to." He then removed the staff from the wall, turned around and walked towards the door._

" _Please, please don't take him!" Yui cried after him._

 _Sisyphus touched the blue ice that covered the door with his staff and it instantly melted. "Oh, and one more thing. The kid will only be set free if you can find my castle, but before that you will have to find a way to heal yourself. And, not only will I kill the kid if anyone finds out about your condition but the ice will begin to spread much faster through your body and you will die almost instantly. In short, both you and the kid will die if you're unable to come to my castle to fetch him. He dies if you die, remember that." Sisyphus's body began to glow. "And don't even think about trying to fool me in some way, with that curse I put on you you and I are connected, if anyone finds out… I will know."_

" _Stop!" Yui cried and threw herself towards them but they both disappeared right in front of her eyes before she could reach them._

 **End of flashback:**

"He was after Fairy all along…?" Apollon asked, still in shock.

"The bastard fucking cursed her!" Takeru shouted.

"And he's using the kid to silence her." Vidar added.

"Zeus, there has to be something we can do to help Kusanagi! " Hades uttered, sounding desperate.

"If there isn't, then Kusanagi-san will…" Dionysus whispered.

Zeus cleared his throat. "This is very unfortunate but with Kusanagi's memories we've found out that Sisyphus resides in a ice castle far away from Mount Olympus, he might as well still be in the world of the Greek gods. And the one who sought him out seems to know Kusanagi because he or she could tell Sisyphus enough about her."

"But who would do such a thing?" Balder asked. "Yui-san is a sweet person, everyone she meets grows to like her."

 **Flashback:**

 _Yui was looking for something in her wardrobe and she seemed to be in deep thoughts when suddenly she fell to her knees and held a hand over her heart. The ice was spreading and it looked like it hurt alot. A moment after it stopped she rose to her feet, then it appeared like she was talking to someone inside her head (the gods could hear Sisyphus's voice echo inside Yui's head)._

" _ **Yui.**_ _"_

" _Sisyphus?"_

" _ **I see you are able to hear me.**_ _"_

" _What do you want?"_

" _ **I was just going to tell you something important, do you want to hear it?**_ _"_

" _Please just let the child go."_

 _He ignored her. "_ _ **Listen closely. As you may have noticed the ice has started to spread and you will have to find a cure quick if you don't want you and the kid to die.**_ _"_

" _I know that already… You made it_ _ **very**_ _clear."_

" _ **But no one can find out about it and it's impossible for you to do it on your own, so you will have to seek help from other mythological beings. The ones who have no connections to the most known gods and live in solitude, far away from civilization. The ones who have no intentions of taking any contact with others and roam the earth like ghosts. You will find these creatures in places where no one ever goes. Remember, they are not like the gods and goddesses you have met. Some of these beings are like walking curses… like you are now.**_ _"_

" _... Why are you telling me this? You want me dead, right?"_

" _ **Yui, Yui, Yui… Killing you would be no fun, not without having you endure a little torture and a few tests first. You see, I enjoy watching my victims fight for survival before I end their lives.**_ _"_

" _!"_

" _ **Good luck, Yui. I look forward to see what dangers you might run into while trying to stay alive. Have fun with the outcasts!**_ _"_

 **End of flashback:**

 **Next flashback:**

 _Yui was in the library with Helga. "Helga-san, look at these. They're beautiful."_

" _Oh?"_

 _Helga walked up to Yui and looked at the picture. "Ah, the elves. Yes they are indeed very beautiful creatures. They can usually be found deep in the forest."_

" _I see, and they don't have any connections with gods?"_

" _Not really, if gods and elves meet then they will only nod to acknowledge each other's presence and walk their separate ways. We may not interact with each other but we still like to be polite."_

" _And… what if I met one?"_

" _I guess they would either ignore you or approach you. If they do, they want to see if they can do anything for you, for a price that is."_

 _On her way home from Odin's castle the ice started spreading again and she tried to walk as fast as she could and finally made it inside her cottage. "I won't be able to hide it for long…" She whispered to herself._

 **End of flashback:**

 **Next flashback:**

 _The female elf reached out to touch the ice. "You poor thing…"_

" _A curse." The male whispered._

 _The female removed her eyes from the ice on Yui's chest. "Why can't the gods help you with this?"_

" _The one who put this on me is called Sisyphus."_

" _Sisyphus? That ice demon who was once human?"_

" _Yes. You see, I was going to return a human child to my old world when he found me, put this curse on me and took away the child. If any of the gods find out, the little boy will be killed. Sisyphus gave me a chance to heal myself and save the boy but to do that I would have to seek help from the ones who have no connections to the gods."_

" _So you came to us, hoping we could remove it." The male stated. The female ignored him and spoke to Yui. "My dear, this will kill you soon."_

" _I know. I have nothing to offer you but if you are able to do something, please, I'll do anything. I have to save the child before I drag him down with me. If I die, so will he. Sisyphus will not let him go."_

 _The female elf placed a hand on Yui's head. "Yui, I'm afraid we won't be able to do anything for you. There are many things we can heal but this, this curse of yours, we simply do not possess that kind of power it takes to destroy it. I'm sorry, I truly am."_

 _Yui bowed at the beautiful elves in front of her. "Thank you for having a look at me, I appreciate it."_

 **End of flashback:**

 **Next flashback:**

 _Yui was talking to an otter who seemed to know a way to remove the curse and she followed him to the dwarves where she found out the otter was actually a dwarf as well._

 _Yui, Otr, Fjalar, Galar and Regin were sitting around a table inside Fjalar's stone house when the ice started spreading and Yui was clutching the ice over her heart tightly. In the next moment she flew up from the chair and managed to take a few steps before she collapsed on the floor._

 _After she had woken up in the bed, she received the star-shaped stone from Regin._

 _Later, Otr and Yui headed for the dragon named Fafnir._

" _I'm going to help you." Otr said._

" _I can't ask this of you…"_

" _You don't have to, I'm going to do it anyway."_

" _But-"_

" _You're going to need my help and I'm willing to lend you my strength." Otr assured her as he took her hand in his._

 _Inside the cave:_

 _Yui was talking to the dragon when everything got out of hand and Otr had to get her out of there fast._

 _Yui opened her eyes and breathed heavily, she was lying in the snow and the wind was making her shiver._

" _Yui-san!"_

 _She looked to the side. "Otr… san…"_

" _How are you feeling?"_

" _Cold… and it feels like… my skin's been torn up…"_

 _The next scene showed Otr letting Yui down from his back and let her rest with her back against a tree. Yui pulled the sweater down so that the skin over her heart was showing, gasped, and let go of it. "This isn't… good…" She whispered with her head against the tree._

 _Later, the elf she met earlier, Einar showed up and Yui gave him half of the blood in exchange for a portal._

" _Don't die, alright. I won't forgive you if you do." Otr told Yui._

" _I won't give up, I can promise you that." She smiled down at him. She was just about to turn around when a hand on her arm stopped her. "Otr-san?"_

 _Otr placed his lips on her hand._

" _O-Otr-san?"_

 _Otr let go of her hand and looked her in the eye. "Come visit me, alright?"_

 **End of flashback:**

 **Next flashback:**

 _Yui continued to smile at Balder, Apollon, Tsukito and Loki as she followed them to the front door and waved at them as they walked down the road. Then she closed the door, turned around and leaned against it for support. The ice was spreading, but thanks to the star-shaped stone Regin had made for her she was able to handle the pain better._

 _The next day she went to find the elf, Einar again._

" _I don't wish to scare you but, it doesn't look like you have much time left." Einar told her._

" _I know, I can feel my body giving up."_

" _Are you giving up?"_

" _No, if I was I wouldn't be here right now." She answered and took out one of the bottles from her pocket. "If this is enough, I would like another portal, to the world of the Greek gods."_

 _Einar made another portal for her and gave her the red thing that could take her anywhere she wanted._

 _Then she met Iaso._

" _I'm willing to try anything. Please, this is my decision so you don't have to take responsibility for it. It's just that-..." Tears began to form in Yui's eyes. "I don't want to leave my friends!" The tears started falling and she tried to wipe them away. "I don't want to leave them behind and I want to bring the little boy home to his parents!"_

 _Later, Yui was leaning against the couch, feeling very sick and exhausted, her skin was pale and her eyes were cloudy. "We shouldn't try anything else, you're only getting worse, Yui-san." Iaso informed. "None of the salves worked."_

" _I have to… keep trying… or else I-" Yui got quiet after that._

 **End of flashback:**

 **Next flashback:**

 _Iaso took Yui to meet the centaur, Chiron, but ran into Alexandro first._

" _You do indeed look like you're unwell." Alexandro pointed out._

" _It's only getting worse I'm afraid." Yui answered._

 _Right after she had finished the sentence, the ice started spreading again and Yui dropped down to her knees and screamed._

 _Alexandro took Yui and Iaso to Chiron as quickly as possible._

" _Chiron-san, you don't have to waste your time on me if you're busy…"_

" _Don't worry about that, Yui-chan, I have all the time in the world." Chiron answered calmly. "You poor thing, the world hasn't been fair to you. But I must say you're very brave and strong minded for holding out for yourself and that boy."_

" _But soon it won't matter… I can feel my body dying."_

 _Iaso then told Yui about how the stone Regin had made for her had cracked and Chiron informed her about Yuki-onna._

 _Yui put the necklace around her neck. "This is the part where I say goodbye."_

" _Where are you going?" Alexandro asked. "I can take you there, you know?"_

" _If there's anything else we can do-..." Chiron added._

" _What are you going to do, Yui-san?" Iaso asked._

 _Yui just smiled at them and grabbed the necklace. "Thank you for everything."_

 **End of flashback:**

When the floating mirror disappeared everyone but Zeus and Odin were either looking down at the table or to the side. After seeing everything that had happened and the state Yui was in when she had left the world of the Greek gods they couldn't bear to talk or even look at each other.

After a moment of silence Apollon spoke. "Why didn't we see it? Why didn't we see something was wrong?"

"Some friends and protectors we are…" Dionysus whispered.

Thor was trying to comfort Sif who was trying to wipe the tears away but it was no use since only more tears fell as she did.

Tsukito lowered his head. "Kusanagi Yui is… dying…"

"She's not!" Loki shouted, making everyone look at him. "There's no freaking way!"

Balder put a hand on his shoulder. "Loki, calm down…"

Loki stood up hastily, making the chair fall to the floor, and put his hands on the table for support. "I knew it… I knew something was wrong…"

"What do you mean?" Hades asked.

"Her body was getting colder, she was putting on fake smiles, wanted to read about medicine and looked like she was hurting." Loki explained.

"Loki-Loki, don't blame yourself, there is no way you could have known." Apollon said.

"He's right, she was trying to hide it so don't beat yourself up." Freyr added calmly.

"Still, we all left her alone." Takeru reminded them.

"We were looking for Sisyphus, we didn't know he was actually waiting for her in her home." Tyr said.

"I should have stayed with her. Damn it all!" Loki shouted. "What the hell do we do now? Didn't Sisyphus say that if we found out about this she would die?"

It was Zeus turn to speak. "The two are connected, as long as Kusanagi doesn't know that we know, Sisyphus won't find out about it. We still have time."

"But how can we help her without her finding out that we know the truth?" Balder asked.

"By starting with finding the one who told Sisyphus about Kusanagi." Thor spoke.

Everyone turned to look at him. "Do you have any idea who it might be?" Odin asked.

"I'm not sure." Thor answered. "But there is one goddess who has shown she doesn't like Kusanagi being here."

 **Silence ~**

Zeus's eyes widened a little when he realised, "Aphrodite."

 **A/N: Sorry for the long wait~ And I will post the next chapter in about 3 days!**


	21. Chapter 21

**Previously:**

"We were looking for Sisyphus, we didn't know he was actually waiting for her in her home." Tyr said.

"I should have stayed with her. Damn it all!" Loki shouted. "What the hell do we do now? Didn't Sisyphus say that if we found out about this she would die?"

It was Zeus turn to speak. "The two are connected, as long as Kusanagi doesn't know that we know, Sisyphus won't find out about it. We still have time."

"But how can we help her without her finding out that we know the truth?" Balder asked.

"By starting with finding the one who told Sisyphus about Kusanagi." Thor spoke.

Everyone turned to look at him. "Do you have any idea who it might be?" Odin asked.

"I'm not sure." Thor answered. "But there is one goddess who has shown she doesn't like Kusanagi being here."

 **Silence ~**

Zeus eyes widened a little when he realised, "Aphrodite."

 **Now:**

"Dite-Dite?" Apollon asked.

"Of course!" Takeru exclaimed.

"How can we know it was her for sure?" Vidar asked.

"Only one way to find out." Dionysus said.

Hades stood up from his chair. "Then let's go and confront her."

"She's staying in one of the guest rooms right now. We'll look for her there first." Odin informed.

Everyone stood up from their chairs, ready to leave as soon as possible but when Balder turned to say something to Loki he was not beside him anymore. "Loki?"

"Soon after I said Aphrodite's name, he left." Zeus explained, not really surprised.

* * *

Loki was already outside Aphrodite's room, he was pissed and knocked aggressively on the door. He could hear two voices coming from inside.

The door opened. "Damn, calm down already!" Aphrodite hissed.

Loki was narrowing his eyes at her. "What have you done?"

"Excuse me?"

Before Loki could say anything else, a god appeared from behind Aphrodite and Zeus and the others could be seen walking towards them.

"Well, if it isn't Loki." The god smirked. "Couldn't resist our beautiful Aphrodite anymore?"

"I don't give a damn about her! I care about the things she has caused." Loki hissed.

"Ares, I see you're back early." Zeus pointed out once he and the others were close enough.

Ares was the Greek god of war, had short dark blue hair, ice blue eyes and was wearing a golden armor. He was also Aphrodite's lover. "Yes, it didn't take as long as I thought it would. I returned just a few hours ago but when they told me Aphrodite was here I came immediately. In fact, we were just about to have some "fun" when Loki interrupted us."

Loki looked like he wanted to kill Aphrodite so Balder and Apollon walked up to him and tried to calm him down.

Zeus ignored Ares and turned to his daughter. "Aphrodite, we have something we need to talk to you about."

* * *

Yui was sitting on the ground, leaning against a tree in the forest she had ended up in. She looked so tired and weak as she tried her best to breath normally. A tear ran down her right eye. "This is not how… I wanted… things to… end…"

She slowly reached for the red "candy" she got from Einar inside her pocket and held it close to her mouth. ' _This will be… my last journey…_ '

* * *

"Why do you think I have something to do with that human's condition?" Aphrodite asked, offended. She was sitting on the bed in the guest room while the others were standing around her.

"Kusanagi is close to death, if you know anything you have to tell us." Hades said.

"Please, uncle." Aphrodite answered him sarcastically. "This has nothing to do with me."

"Where were you when we were searching for Sisyphus?" Dionysus asked.

"Home?"

"Liar." Tyr stated. "I heard you were here all the time."

"So what?"

"So, you claim you are innocent?" Odin asked.

Aphrodite sighed. "Of course I am."

"We are running out of time…" Balder pointed out in a low voice.

"I'm asking you again, are you absolutely sure you have nothing to do with this. If you're lying to me-" Zeus warned.

Loki's eyes traveled to the wardrobe.

"Why don't you believe me? Do you like the human more than me?" Aphrodite asked, clearly bored.

"Of course we do!" Takeru exclaimed. "But that's not the issue here!"

"Loki?" Balder asked when he spotted his friend by the now open wardrobe.

Aphrodite's eyes widened and she stood up from the bed. "Hey! What do you think you're doing? !"

Loki didn't answer, it looked like he was searching for something.

"Loki-Loki, what are you looking for?" Apollon asked.

And in the exact same moment Loki took out something black, the guard who was the first to inform Odin about Sisyphus knocked on the already open door. He was carrying a bottle of wine. "My lady, here is your-" Then he noticed all the gods inside her room. "-wine… Sorry, am I interrupting something?"

"It's alright." Odin told the guard.

"I can come back la-... Huh?" The guard's gaze found the black cloth Loki was holding. "That black cloak…!"

Everyone turned to look at it.

"What about it?" Zeus asked.

"That looks like the same cloak that woman who told me about Sisyphus was wearing!"

Aphrodite started running towards the open door, trying to escape.

"Stop her!" Tyr ordered the guard but Aphrodite threw a pink ball of energy at him and was able to run past him.

"After her! Before she teleports!" Zeus called to the others who immediately took off after her.

Aphrodite ran down the hallway but didn't get very far because suddenly Ares stood in front of her.

"A-Ares! ?" She exclaimed. "Out of my way!"

Ares grabbed her arm so she couldn't escape and smirked down at her. "Just what have you been up to, you careless woman?"

* * *

"I am very disappointed in you, Aphrodite. To think that you would go that far…" Zeus told her.

"..."

"Now, how did you know where to find Sisyphus?"

"..."

"Talk already!" Loki shouted. "We don't have much time left!"

Aphrodite looked down at the floor, giving up. "I heard rumors. When I was visiting a lover in a small village near Mount Olympus I heard that someone had traveled far away and found a frozen waterfall but everything else around it was green and it was hot outside. I thought it was strange and figured that maybe, just maybe, it was the dangerous Sisyphus's hideout the traveler had found. So I went to investigate, since I needed someone who could get rid of Yui for me and make her suffer. I found the frozen waterfall and behind it, I discovered a big ice castle inside."

"And then?" Hades asked.

"Then I met him. Sisyphus. And told him about Yui to make him jealous of her, I didn't even have to ask him to kill her, he was already very eager to meet her."

"You damn bitch!" Takeru hissed.

"You sent Yui-san to her death!" Balder added.

"Unforgivable…" Tsukito said in almost a whisper.

Zeus put a hand on Aphrodite's shoulder. "Where is this waterfall?"

* * *

Yui was walking around aimlessly in the snowy mountains in the realm of the Japanese gods. ' _It's cold… so cold._ ' It wasn't snowing but the hard wind showed her no mercy. "Aahh…!" She cried out quietly. The ice on her body didn't show any mercy either. She could tell she was bleeding on both of her shoulders and on her stomach. Her left cheek felt like it would crack any moment now, too.

It was really hard moving around in the deep snow and thanks to the ice over her left eye her sight was limited as well. How was she supposed to find the one named Yuki-onna in a place like this?

Yui stopped walking. "It's over soon… right?"

* * *

In his ice castle Sisyphus was sitting on his throne, watching everything from Yui's eyes, or only her right eye to be exact. "Should I make the ice spread one more time?" He smirked. "I guess this is it, Yui. You tried your best but I'm afraid your time is up."

But before he could do anything his eyes widened when he sensed something dangerous and quickly stood up and jumped out of the way as a ball of fire came flying towards him and destroyed the throne he had been sitting on. He hadn't been prepared for this. Just a little further away from him stood the god of fire, Loki, and he didn't look very happy. Right behind him stood Zeus, Odin, Hades, Apollon, Dionysus, Balder, Thor, Takeru and Tsukito. The rest had stayed behind to watch Aphrodite.

Once Sisyphus understood what was happening he started smirking. "Oh? Did the goddess of love reveal my location?"

"Finally, Sisyphus, we've found you." Zeus said and narrowed his eyes.

"It's time to go back to where you belong." Hades added, referring to the underworld.

"Not going to happen, I was set free from my punishment, you can't take me back."

"You stole an amulet that belonged to us and you have caused great damage, you are definitely going back." Zeus told him.

"Make me!" Sisyphus laughed as he pointed his staff at them and fired a wave of blue ice in their direction.

The gods flew out of the way just in time.

"You know, I was wondering." Sisyphus said calmly. "Out of curiosity, how is your human friend doing?"

* * *

Yui was in trouble now. Her body had become so cold it had almost stopped working and she was now down on her knees, struggling to stay in control. But it was no use, this was the end of the line for her. She couldn't keep on going any longer. ' _At least I didn't give up… until the very end._ ' She thought and was just about to close her one eye when a figure revealed itself in the distance.

Her eye traveled to something that looked like a woman. ' _Wait, could it be?_ '

The woman was slowly making her way towards her and as she got closer Yui could see that the woman was literally floating across the snow in her white kimono. She had long black hair, blue lips and dark blue eyes and she had so pale skin she almost looked transparent.

The woman stopped right in front of Yui, looking down at her with, what could be described as, dead eyes. She didn't seem interested at all.

"You are… Yuki-onna… right?" Yui asked quietly.

* * *

The gods knew Sisyphus was either trying to make them admit they knew about Yui's curse or he was trying to make them realise it himself.

"Why would you ask that?" Balder asked. "Yui-san is doing just fine."

"Yeah." Thor agreed.

"Are you sure about that?" Sisyphus smirked as he dodged every single one of their attacks.

"Leave her out of this!" Loki shouted as he threw himself at the ice demon with his whole body on fire. "I'll melt that freaking ice of yours!"

"That won't work, god of fire." Sisyphus grinned and used the staff to make a barrier around his body.

It didn't matter how much they used their powers on it, the barrier wouldn't budge.

"What do we do now! ?" Apollon called.

"Nothing works!" Takeru shouted.

Then suddenly, the barrier disappeared, revealing Sisyphus holding the scared human boy with one arm. "Remember him?"

Without realising it, some of their eyes widened at the sight as they remembered one of the reasons Yui couldn't tell them about the curse. At least the kid seemed to be alright, cold but unharmed.

"Let him go, Sisyphus." Odin ordered. "Using a child as a shield is hardly fair."

Sisyphus smirked. "I know you all know this boy, Aphrodite told me all about it and how Yui's been looking after him. Wasn't she supposed to return him home? Did she lie to you? Or did something happen?"

"We have no idea what you're talking about." Dionysus said.

"Don't play dumb!" Sisyphus exclaimed. "Of course you have realised something was wrong. I have seen everything through her eyes because we are connected!"

Everyone's eyes widened. Sisyphus was revealing everything!

"I cursed her, threatened her, made her suffer and laughed at her pain. I listened to her cries and watched as her life slowly was being taken away from her!"

"Stop!" Loki, Apollon, Takeru and Balder exclaimed.

"And where were you? Her friends? When she needed you the most?" Sisyphus finished.

* * *

"Yuki-onna… my name is… Kusanagi Yui… and I have come here… to ask you for help."

The goddess just stared down at her.

"I'm dying… I know that you have… no reason to… care… about that but… I'm begging you. There's a child… who will die with me if I-" Tears started falling again.

The woman still didn't look interested.

"P-Please…"

* * *

Everyone narrowed their eyes at him, trying to hide their shame.

"Now that you know the truth for sure, it will be my pleasure to end your friend's life." Sisyphus grinned and slammed the end of his staff against the floor. "Say goodbye to your little human!"

"NO!" All of Yui's friends cried out. But it was too late.

* * *

Yui gasped when she felt the ice spreading over her body one last time. The ice over her eye moved up quickly towards the top of her head and she could feel her body being squeezed. All air escaped her lungs and she was unable to inhale again. Suffocating and covered in ice her soul prepared to leave her body.

But then…

Yuki-onna held out her arm towards Yui and when her finger made contact with her forehead, a flash of light struck her and her lifeless body fell down into the snow.

* * *

"BASTARD!" Loki screamed and flew towards the demon and the child.

Takeru joined him. "What the hell did you do! ?"

"And as I told her." Sisyphus began. "The child will die along with her." Then he threw the screaming kid up in the air and was just about to use his staff on him when Thor suddenly came flying and caught the boy, saving him from the impact just in time.

"Good job, Thor!" Balder exclaimed in relief.

"Don't hold back everyone! Give him all you've got!" Zeus shouted.

Loki and Takeru fired at him at the same time. Since Sisyphus was distracted by Thor's action it hit him and he was sent flying into the cold wall behind him.

He quickly tried to get up. "You will not defeat me!"

"Now! All at once!" Odin ordered.

Sisyphus screamed in pain as the gods combined their powers to bring him down. "NO! This can't be the end! My plan! My victory!"

"Keep going everyone!" Hades shouted.

"GAAAAAAAHHHHHH! ! !" Sisyphus cried out.

Then, a big boom was heard right before the attacks stopped and everything around them turned white and no one was able to see a thing anymore. It was like a heavy fog was surrounding them.

Everyone was quiet until they were able to see again.

"Did we do it?" Apollon asked.

Zeus saw something small and blue in the corner of his eye and went to pick it up. It was the amulet.

A groaning sound that echoed through the castle caught their attention. "Where did it come from?" Dionysus asked as he and the others looked around, trying to locate the owner of the voice.

"Over there." Tsukito said, pointing at something a bit further away from them.

There, among the broken pieces of ice, the human version of Sisyphus lay.

"It seems that when we attacked, the amulet came off and he was turned back into a human again." Zeus pointed out.

"We'll take him back with us." Odin said and started walking towards the unconscious human man.

"But what about Fairy?" Apollon asked with worry.

"What if it's too late?" Hades asked.

"Sisyphus used his staff to make the ice spread a final time, be prepared for what you might find." Zeus told them.

"Are you saying she might be lying dead somewhere?" Loki hissed through his teeth.

"Where do we even start looking for her? Last time we saw her she disappeared to the human world." Balder explained.

"The centaur told her about Yuki-onna, perhaps she went to find her." Tsukito pointed out.

"I know where she resides, I'm going there." Takeru said.

"Find her, Take-Take. Find Fairy." Apollon told him with a sad tone in his voice.

"And bring her home." Dionysus added.

But just as Takeru prepared to teleport, Loki attached himself to him by placing a hand on his shoulder, connecting them before they both disappeared.

"I saw that coming…" Odin sighed.

"Let's go back." Zeus said and teleported himself away.

The others followed close behind.

When they returned they were met by a happy crowd of both Norse, Japanese and Greek gods. They were standing outside Odin's castle and Sisyphus, who was now awake, was bound to the ground. His arms were tied behind his back in short chains so that he couldn't stand up. It was obvious the crowd was angry with him, he had caused them nothing but trouble after all and now he would surely get the ultimate punishment. Sisyphus had been quiet since they returned, obviously not happy about being turned back into a weak human, but when he opened his mouth to speak, the angry crowd became silent. "I guess you must be pretty happy with yourselves, right? You were finally able to capture me. Took you long enough! For years you weren't able to locate me, haha, what a joke! You stupid and weak gods couldn't even find a former human in their own realm!"

While the angry gods and goddesses started shouting at him for his outburst, Yui's friends were standing further away from the crowd. They were more worried about Yui to care about Sisyphus and what punishment he should receive for his actions. When Sif, Freyja, Freyr, Vidar and Tyr had found them they had told them everything that had happened in the ice castle and how Sisyphus had used his staff to kill Yui. Sif had started crying and Thor had to give the human boy to Balder so he could help comfort her and Freyja had started shouting out things about how she was going to kill the fellow goddess of love for being responsible for Yui's death.

"Try to calm down, Freyja, we don't know if Yui-san is gone for sure." Balder said calmly but it was pretty obvious he was worried out of his mind.

The rest of the friends didn't look so cheerful either. Freyr was sitting on the ground with his head in his hands, Dionysus and Hades were leaning against the wall of the castle with their eyes closed, Apollon was looking down at the ground and Tsukito was looking up at the sky. Vidar and Tyr were standing just a little further away from the rest, they too had lowered their heads, praying that Takeru and Loki would return with Yui soon. A very much **alive** Yui.

* * *

Loki and Takeru were flying over the snowy and cold mountains that belonged to the Japanese gods. They had been searching for a while now but they still couldn't find Yui anywhere. "Come on Weed… Where are you?" Takeru whispered. Loki had been quiet the whole time, which was unusual for him but Takeru had decided not to ask about it, figuring now was not a good time. They had to find their friend, and fast!

Loki's eyes scanned the snow down below. So far, nothing…

But then, a figure appeared and Loki came to a stop, making Takeru stop as well and the two gods looked down at the black haired goddess who seemed to be staring up at them. "That's… Yuki-onna!" Takeru exclaimed and he and Loki quickly flew down and landed in the snow about 10 yards away from her.

"Where is she! ?" Loki shouted at her.

The goddess just continued to stare at them for a moment before her gaze turned a little to the side behind the two gods. Takeru and Loki followed her gaze and turned around to see what she was looking at.

And there, about 15 yards away, something was sticking up from the snow.

The two gods' eyes widened. "Yui!" "Weed!" They exclaimed and hurried over to where she was lying.

When they got to her her body was half buried in the snow and they had to dig her out. "Stay with us Weed!" Takeru cried out.

"We're taking you home." Loki whispered.

 **A/N: That's it for now, hope you liked it! See you again in 4-5 days!**


	22. Chapter 22

**Previously:**

Loki's eyes scanned the snow down below. So far, nothing…

But then, a figure appeared and Loki came to a stop, making Takeru stop as well and the two gods looked down at the black haired goddess who seemed to be staring up at them. "That's… Yuki-onna!" Takeru exclaimed and he and Loki quickly flew down and landed in the snow about 10 yards away from her.

"Where is she! ?" Loki shouted at her.

The goddess just continued to stare at them for a moment before her gaze turned a little to the side behind the two gods. Takeru and Loki followed her gaze and turned around to see what she was looking at.

And there, about 15 yards away, something was sticking up from the snow.

The two gods' eyes widened. "Yui!" "Weed!" They exclaimed and hurried over to where she was lying.

When they got to her her body was half buried in the snow and they had to dig her out. "Stay with us Weed!" Takeru cried out.

"We're taking you home." Loki whispered.

 **Now:**

"They are taking too long, where are they?" Sif asked. She had calmed down enough to stop crying.

"It's alright, Sif-Sif, Loki-Loki and Take-Take will find her." Apollon assured her.

"But still, they have been gone for awhile now." Hades pointed out.

"What if they're unable to find her?" Freyr asked.

"Don't say that, brother!" His sister exclaimed.

"We should follow them!" Balder suggested.

"You will do no such thing." Zeus said as he walked up to them. "The two of them will find her, there is no need for you all to go."

"But-!" Balder exclaimed.

"We can't just wait here and do nothing when Fairy is out there! She needs us!" Apollon shouted.

"Looking for her is the least we can do after we failed to protect her." Hades stated.

"Don't let Sisyphus's words get to you. There was nothing you could have done." Zeus told them.

"We could have stayed by her side!" Freyr exclaimed. "We shouldn't have left her alone…"

"Brother." Freyja whispered and put a hand on his shoulder.

"We let this happen…" Dionysus said with his head down.

"Kusanagi Yui is paying the price for our ignorance." Tsukito stated.

"We have waited long enough, let's go after them-" Balder started but was interrupted when gasping sounds coming from inside the crowd was heard.

The friends all looked in the direction of the crowd who was getting out of the way of two figures heading towards the castle.

It became deadly quiet and eyes widened in shock when they realised who it was Loki was carrying in his arms. It was an awful sight, Loki's face was dark as he looked down at Yui who wasn't moving at all. Her skin was pale and the ice over her eye had spread up to the top of her head and down towards her right ear and she was bleeding from several places.

Her friends all screamed her name and rushed towards Loki and Takeru.

* * *

Yui's friends were sitting outside a room, all with pained expressions on their faces. No one said a word. Yui was inside with the Norse goddess of healing, Eir, Odin and Zeus and they had been waiting for a long time for any news.

Then, the door opened and a goddess with red hair stepped out, making everyone rise to their feet, eager to find out if there was any hope for their precious human friend. "Well?" Hades asked.

"Come inside." Eir told them quietly.

They followed her inside and found Zeus and Odin standing beside a table where they had placed Yui on and gasped at the sight. Yui's dress had been removed and only two towels were covering her breasts and the lower and intimate part of her body. Now they were able to see exactly how the ice had moved over her body. First it was the ice that had spread over her head and down to her ear, then it was the one that had spread all the way down her left leg and down to her foot, her other leg had ice down to her knee and the line of ice on her right shoulder had moved all the way down her arm and stopped at her wrist. At least she wasn't bleeding anymore, Eir had managed to stop it.

"Yui-san…!" "Fairy!" Balder and Apollon cried out.

"How… How is she?" Hades asked.

"I-I can't see her breathing…!" Sif cried.

Eir walked up to Yui and looked down at her. "She isn't dead."

"But the curse-?" Takeru asked.

Eir moved some hair away from Yui's face. "It appears that Yuki-onna was able to stop the ice from spreading any further but Yui was already on the verge of death so it put her in a coma-like state. The goddess couldn't remove the curse, only stop it, if we can't find a way to cure her soon she might never wake up again."

"That can't be…!" Apollon cried out.

"Odin and I will get the answers out of Sisyphus, you all can stay here and keep Kusanagi company." Zeus informed as the two headed for the door.

"I'll be outside, call if anything happens." Eir said as she too left the room.

None of the gods knew what to do and just stood around Yui's unmoving body and watched her for several minutes.

"We're so sorry, Fairy." Apollon finally said and placed a hand over hers gently.

"This is our fault." Balder whispered.

"Kusanagi Yui, you are going to be alright." Tsukito said.

Takeru narrowed his eyes. "Damn it, Weed…"

"Everything's going to be alright." Thor stated.

"Just wait a little longer…" Hades said in a low voice.

"It's too early for you to leave us." Dionysus told her.

Loki stayed quiet the whole time.

Sif noticed the star-shaped rock the dwarf had made for her and the small bottle of dragon blood on another table. "Look, the things she used to ease her pain."

"Too bad they can't help her now…" Freyja cried softly and leaned against her brother for support.

Tyr turned to Vidar. "Vidar, let's go with Odin."

"Yeah." He answered and followed him towards the door. They didn't have the same kind of relationship with Yui as the others and thought it would be best to leave them alone with her. Right now it was more important to get Sisyphus to talk.

* * *

The sun was rising, Odin and Zeus had been trying to make him speak all night but he had refused. "You can threaten me all you want, I'm not talking." Sisyphus smirked up at them. The crowd of gods was smaller now but there were still many of them there.

"Stop looking at us with that annoying smile." Zeus ordered.

"You are going to kill me anyway, why should I help you cure the girl?"

Zeus's face darkened. "Don't think you can act like a fool around me and get away with it, Sisyphus."

For now, Yui's friends had left Yui to Eir and was currently watching their leaders interrogate Sisyphus. "Just how long is this going to take?" Takeru hissed.

"We should just kill him, he's not going to talk." Freyr stated.

"I didn't want to do this but you leave me no choice." Zeus told the human on the ground. "You will stay out here, no food and no water, until you talk." Then he turned to Vidar and Tyr. "You two will watch him, call for us when he's ready to talk."

"Yes, Zeus-sama!" They both answered.

And two days passed…

None of Yui's friends felt like doing their duties, not until Yui had woken up. They were too scared to leave her as well so either they were watching her or they were observing Sisyphus from a distance. "I want to burn him alive." Loki said through his teeth as he watched Sisyphus from the balcony to the room Yui was lying. Balder was there with him as well, he had just returned with tea when he stumbled over his own feet and landed flat on the floor just in front of the doorway to the balcony. The teacup flew past Loki and down towards the ground. It hit Hoenir, who was passing by, in the head and he looked around in confusion while rubbing his head. The sight made Loki grin. "Thanks for the distraction, Balder."

Balder pulled himself up from the floor. "Oh, um, hehe, you're welcome." He said and let out a small laugh.

But the sweet moment didn't last very long and soon their expressions changed again.

Balder's gaze turned to the little boy by the table Yui was lying on. He was using one of the table's legs for support as he was trying to look at her, not quite understanding why she was sleeping up there. He obviously wanted her to wake up so she could pick him up. "Why haven't we left him with his parents yet?"

For the past two days Loki had been the one to look after the child, since he was the only one beside Yui who he seemed comfortable with. "Odin insists Yui should be the one to return him. She risked her life trying to save him so it's only fair she gets to meet him again and say goodbye as well. That's what he said."

"But the child can't wait here forever. If we wait much longer to return him-"

"I know. One more day, if she hasn't woken up by then Odin told me to take him home."

"I see."

The kid rubbed his eyes, very sad and stressed so Loki pushed himself away from the balcony and walked up to him. "Up we go." He said as he picked him up. He was now able to see her clearly and started crying softly when he saw what the bad man had done to her. "Yeah, I know kid." Loki said and turned away from the table. "Balder, take him and get him something to eat. I need a moment."

Balder wasn't about to argue with that. "Alright, take your time."

Once Balder and the boy had left, Loki walked up to Yui. He stared down at her ice-covered face and touched the cheek the ice hadn't reached yet. "You idiot…"

He spent minutes just looking at her. "If you wake up, I'm never leaving your side again."

* * *

"You look awful." Tyr pointed out.

Sisyphus didn't look so well, he was tired, hungry and thirsty. When he was a demon he could survive for weeks without any nutrition but now that he was back in his original form it was getting harder to ignore his needs. "Get Zeus." He told Tyr who looked down at him in surprise. ' _Is he going to tell him?_ ' Tyr thought before he turned to Vidar. "Watch him, I'll go get Zeus-sama."

* * *

The huge crowd had gathered around Sisyphus again, including Yui's friends, who were standing a bit further away as usual. All wanting to know what he had to say. "So, are you finally going to tell us how to remove the curse?" Zeus asked.

Sisyphus, who was looking down at the ground at first, slowly raised his head and grinned. "As if. There's no way to remove it."

The crowd gasped.

"I placed the curse on her with the help of my staff, the only thing that could remove it, and it was destroyed when you defeated me. Sorry to say this but, that girl is doomed. I only told her to go look for a cure because I wanted to see her fight for her life but there really is no cure out there for her, only things that could ease her pain or slow down the process. She would die sooner or later anyway." Sisyphus explained. Then his eyes turned to Yui's friends "So, how does it feel to have destroyed the only thing that could save your friend? You wanted to save her, instead you have killed-" He didn't get to finish the sentence because in a blink of an eye Loki was right in front of him, holding a hand around his throat and squeezed it hard.

"I'll kill you, I'll fucking kill you!"

Meanwhile, Eir was in the room with Yui and the boy, trying to think of a way to remove the curse when she noticed the little boy trying to climb up the table. "That's dangerous, my little friend." She told him and picked him up, then she sat him down on the table beside Yui's body. ' _No harm in allowing him to be near her if that's what he wants. As long as he's careful._ ' She thought and picked up the blue amulet she had brought in with her. She studied it for a minute before she put it down beside Yui. ' _If only I could use the amulet in some way to heal her. But I have no idea how…_ '

She moved to the side to see if she could find something useful among her books and medicine, not realising that the boy, who was sitting beside Yui, had picked up the amulet she had left on the table.

The boy looked at it for a moment before his head turned to Yui and found the snowflake-shaped patch of ice over her heart. Being just a small child he acted on impulse and thought it was a good idea to see if the beautiful blue thing in his hand would be a good decoration for the snowflake. And also, being so young meant he wasn't very good at being careful either…

Eir looked up just in time to see him slam the amulet against the ice on Yui's chest. "No!" She exclaimed.

Too late. The amulet cracked the snowflake and the goddess froze and didn't dare to breathe, afraid the kid had accidentally caused great harm to Yui's already dying body. But what happened in that moment surprised Eir. Blue light emerged from the cracked snowflake and soon it surrounded her whole body. "What in the world-?" Eir exclaimed in shock.

* * *

Hades and Thor had to help tear Loki away from Sisyphus before he killed him. "Don't let him get to you, Loki." Hades told him as they dragged him away back to the others.

"Damn him…!" Loki hissed.

"Is that it?" Sif asked as tears ran down her face. "Is there no hope for Yui?"

"We'll find a way, there **has** to be another way!" Apollon cried out.

"She might die before we can figure something out… my poor little flower." Freyja sobbed and buried her face in her hands.

"She can't die, she just can't!" Takeru shouted out in frustration.

"So, what do we do now?" Tsukito asked.

Odin walked up to Sisyphus and stood beside Zeus. "Be grateful he didn't kill you. Choose your words carefully, you are not a demon anymore, we can kill you in a heartbeat."

"Haha, you'll kill me soon anyway." Sisyphus answered.

"Why did you wait to tell us there was nothing we could do?" Zeus asked.

"To make you believe there actually was a way, Yui's death will be more satisfying now. It's really fun to watch people hope and wait for the good news only to drop the bomb, making them realise they have been hanging onto false hope."

It got quiet.

"Isn't it time to end her suffering?" Sisyphus laughed. "She's as good as dead anyway."

" _Not quite!"_

Loki's eyes widened and so did the rest.

"That voice…!" Apollon exclaimed in shock.

Everyone turned around slowly, not believing their ears, and saw a very familiar face by the entrance to the castle.

"Yui!" "Yui-san!" "Weed!" "Kusanagi-san!" "Kusanagi!" "Yui!" "Kusanagi!" "My little flower!" "Kusanagi!" "Fairy!" "Kusanagi Yui!" "Yui-san!" "Yui-san!" Loki, Balder, Takeru, Dionysus, Hades, Sif, Thor, Freyja, Freyr, Apollon, Tsukito, Vidar and Tyr exclaimed all at once.

Yui was smiling weakly at them from the entrance, Eir was standing beside her with the boy in her arms. She was dressed in a new white dress, similar to the one she usually wore and the ice had disappeared completely from her body. She had red scars on the places the ice had once been, including over her left eye that she still couldn't open yet but other than that she seemed to be heading in the right direction.

The gods were too shocked to move, even when Yui started walking towards them. She was limping as she walked, figuring it would take a while until her body was completely healed.

As she got closer they could see she had a pretty nasty scar over her heart as well.

"I-Impossible!" Sisyphus shouted. "How did you-? !"

The crowd moved out of the way as Yui made her way over to Sisyphus who was sitting on the ground.

"Kusanagi, welcome back." Odin said with a smile as he and Zeus moved to the side so she could pass them.

"Thank you." Yui smiled back at him before focusing on Sisyphus once again.

Once she was close enough she sat down on her knees in front of him. "I bet you didn't expect me to ever wake up again." She smiled sweetly at him.

"How on earth did you-? !" Was all Sisyphus was able to say before Eir came up from behind Yui with the kid still in her arms. "This little boy did what we didn't think of doing."

"And what was that, Eir?" Odin asked.

"He literally pierced the snowflake over her heart with the amulet. The snowflake cracked and a blue light emerged from it and surrounded her body. The ice was then sucked into the amulet and Yui opened her eyes just seconds after."

"Of course, the staff was made by the amulet, so it makes sense the amulet was the answer we were looking for." Zeus said.

"No freaking way…!" Sisyphus hissed through his teeth.

"Sisyphus." Yui said to get his attention. "I want to tell you something."

"Oh? And what is that?"

"What you put me through is unforgivable and it's something I never want to experience ever again. Every time the ice spread through my body it felt like I was going to die and at those moments I really did want to. But remembering how I would drag the boy down with me if I did kept me going and my soul would never be able to rest in peace if I left the people I love behind like that. I knew they would blame themselves. But do you know what I hated the most? Lying. I had to lie to everyone and pretend everything was fine. I hate lying and I can only hope they will forgive me for it… To be honest, I'm so angry with you right now, to think that a fellow human could turn out to be so evil he literally turned himself into a demon because he didn't get what he wanted. Childish. You are like a big child who destroys things until he gets his way." Yui took a deep breath before she continued. "There, I have said what I wanted to say. Now, there is one important thing my parents taught me a long time ago… and that's forgiveness."

Sisyphus blinked at her and the gods and goddesses looked down at her in surprise.

"I shouldn't forgive you but I do. Seeing how you have lost everything and is about to get punished for your actions I feel like it's the right thing to do." Yui said and stood up. "And besides, I'm not really the type of human to hold a grudge. And I also met some wonderful people thanks to you." She finished and turned to the boy Eir was holding and patted his head. "And I'm sure you are more interested in getting home to your parents."

The boy smiled widely at her as if he agreed.

"Well said Kusanagi." Odin praised her.

"For now, there are people over there waiting for you." Zeus informed her.

Indeed, all of her friends were standing further away from the crowd, looking very relieved. Some of them even had tears in their eyes.

Yui slowly began to move away from the big crowd and towards her waiting friends. She was tired and her body was sore but she had waited long enough to finally be able to let her friends back in. She was smiling the whole time as she made her way over to them.

When she was close enough she stopped.

"Everyone, I don't know what to say more than that I'm sorry for the pain I've caused you and how happy I am to have all of you by my side. I really did want to tell you everything and I'm sorry that I couldn't. I hope that you can forgive me… Being forced to leave you behind, that has to be the most terrifying feeling I've ever felt!" Tears were now running down from her good eye as she closed it. "Forgive me…! Forgive me!"

More she didn't get to say because just a second later, her friends had trapped her in the middle of a big group hug. "Welcome back to us, Fairy!" "Don't you dare leave us again, Weed!" "Stupid Kitten!"

Yui's eye widened, she was even able to open her left eye just a little before she closed them both again and let more tears of happiness fall. She leaned against the chest of the one in front of her, knowing exactly who it was. ' _Loki-san…_ '

 **A/N: There you have it! Yui is alive and now you can start wondering how her and Loki's relationship is going to change ;) See you in about 4-5 days!**


	23. Chapter 23

**Previously:**

"For now, there are people over there waiting for you." Zeus informed her.

Indeed, all of her friends were standing further away from the crowd, looking very relieved. Some of them even had tears in their eyes.

Yui slowly began to move away from the big crowd and towards her waiting friends. She was tired and her body was sore but she had waited long enough to finally be able to let her friends back in. She was smiling the whole time as she made her way over to them.

When she was close enough she stopped.

"Everyone, I don't know what to say more than that I'm sorry for the pain I've caused you and how happy I am to have all of you by my side. I really did want to tell you everything and I'm sorry that I couldn't. I hope that you can forgive me… Being forced to leave you behind, that has to be the most terrifying feeling I've ever felt!" Tears were now running down from her good eye as she closed it. "Forgive me…! Forgive me!"

More she didn't get to say because just a second later, her friends had trapped her in the middle of a big group hug. "Welcome back to us, Fairy!" "Don't you dare leave us again, Weed!" "Stupid Kitten!"

Yui's eye widened, she was even able to open her left eye just a little before she closed them both again and let more tears of happiness fall. She leaned against the chest of the one in front of her, knowing exactly who it was. ' _Loki-san…_ '

 **Now:**

Yui was back on the table in the room she had woken up in but this time she was awake and sitting instead of lying. Earlier when she had woken up she had felt confused, the last thing she remembered was Yuki-onna touching her forehead, then she lost consciousness. She thought for sure it was over for her but all of a sudden she was able to open both of her eyes and was met by the smiling face of the little boy she was afraid she had killed along with herself. Now she was sitting on the table, her friends were there with her as well, as Eir was taking a look at the red scars on her body. "Can you raise your right arm for me?"

It was the arm the ice had spread to and she found it a little hard to move it normally.

"There we go, good. It still hurts doesn't it?"

"Yes, a little."

"Just give it some time and rest your body and you'll be back to normal before you know it, don't worry."

"Thank you, Eir-san. Umm, the scars-?"

"They will disappear soon as well, let me take a look at your eye."

Yui raised her head so Eir could take a proper look.

"Can you open it?"

Yui managed to open it about halfway but that was it.

"Can you see with it?"

"Yes, it was a little blurry when I first tried but now it's more clear." Yui explained.

Eir then inspected the scar over her eye. "It's a good thing the ice didn't damage your eye, when the scar disappears you should be able to open it the whole way."

"So she's going to be fine, right? Right?" Apollon asked.

Eir giggled. "Yes, soon she will be as good as new. She just needs to take it easy for awhile."

"Oh, thank goodness!" Balder, Sif and Freyja sighed in relief.

"I think we are done now, I will visit you in 3 days to see how you're doing, alright?" Eir said.

"Alright, thanks again." Yui smiled at her and carefully jumped down from the table but her feet didn't even touch the floor because in a heartbeat Loki and Apollon were by her side, helping her down. "Thanks guys."

"Just call for me if you need anything." Eir said to Yui as she was being escorted out of the room.

"I will, bye Eir-san!"

* * *

The gods insisted on walking Yui home, leaving her out of their sight was not an option, especially since they still had to deal with Aphrodite. Once they were outside her cottage Yui went to open her door together with the boy and when she turned around to thank them she saw some of them were looking down at the ground and the rest weren't looking at her. They all had sad expressions on their faces.

"What's wrong?" Yui asked, worried.

"We're sorry, Yui-san…" Balder spoke.

"We let you down." Dionysus added.

"Huh?" Yui exclaimed in confusion. "Why are you saying that?"

Takeru kicked away some snow. "You needed us, yet we couldn't do anything."

"Sorry… that we didn't notice." Hades apologized.

Yui stopped them before they could say anything more. "Everyone, no, don't blame yourselves. That was the last thing I wanted. There was nothing you could have done and besides, I would most likely have died instantly if you had found out about it."

Her friends didn't respond so she continued.

"By the way, now that I think about it, how did you find out the truth?"

"Odin's two birds saw you when that centaur was treating you, so he showed us what you had been going through." Loki explained.

"... I see. I heard from Eir-san that you found Sisyphus and fought him to free the boy and me. You guys have no idea how grateful and happy I am for that. Thank you."

Her friends looked a little more relaxed, they were even smiling a little, even though it was a sad smile.

Realising there was one more thing she had to tell them to cheer them up she worked up the courage, smiled at them and said, "Can you all please raise your heads and look at me?"

The gods, unable to deny her, slowly raised or turned their heads to look her in the eye.

"I love you. You know that right?"

 **Silence ~**

They were staring at her with wide eyes and mouths open. They hadn't expected her to say that and many of their heads turned bright red.

Then she turned around to hide her own blushing face and opened the door for the boy. "Alright, let's go inside. I'm just going to get your own clothes and then I can take you home." She told him. The little kid walked inside in excitement but Yui had to show her red face to her friends one more time before she could close the door. "Umm, alright then, thanks for everything. I will return as soon as I can, so don't worry. Bye!" Then she closed the door, leaving her red-looking friends outside.

"D-Did you hear that, brother?" Takeru asked Tsukito.

"She was very clear." Tsukito answered him.

"Oh my goodness, my face feels so hot right now!" Freyja exclaimed.

"S-She actually said it. She said it." Apollon said in disbelief.

"Y-Yeah…" Hades agreed.

Balder was so shocked he actually lost his balance while standing completely still and landed on his back in the snow. "Thor, Loki, I think I'm dreaming…"

"Loki isn't here." Thor answered simply.

"What? Where did he go?"

"... I don't know."

He obviously knew.

Inside the cottage Yui was sitting on her knees, helping the kid change his clothes in her bedroom. Due to her weakened body it went a little slow but the boy didn't seem to mind. Every time she moved her right arm she couldn't help but look at the long, red scar and think that she was extremely lucky. She didn't realise she had stopped moving as she was looking at the scar with a sad expression on her face, not until a small and gentle hand touched the scar over her closed eye. Surprised, she looked at the boy in front of her. He seemed concerned. "Oh," She said and smiled at him. "don't worry. It will disappear soon."

Then, he did something unexpected. He leaned forward and kissed the scar over her cheek.

Yui was a little too surprised to move and stared at the kid with a wide eye as he looked down at the floor with teary eyes. Yui quickly shook her head to get back to reality and raised her hand towards his face and caught one tear on her finger before it fell. "Come on, it's alright now. Both you and I are safe." She told him calmly. "And I'm so relieved you didn't get hurt."

The boy looked up from the floor.

"I'm awake thanks to you. If you hadn't hit me with the amulet then perhaps I wouldn't be here right now." She smiled and placed a hand on his cheek. "Thanks kid, I'll never forget you."

The little boy then threw himself into her arms and she held him for several seconds before she got the feeling that someone was watching them, so she turned her head to the side and saw Loki standing in the doorway to the bedroom. "Loki-san?" She said in surprise and stood up.

"Surprise." Loki said, half smiling. For once it didn't look like he was up to something. "I sneaked inside."

"I, I can see that."

"Hope you didn't mind."

"Well, I'm getting used to it so…"

It got quiet after that and the boy looked back and forth between the two in confusion.

"Look." Loki uttered.

"Yes?"

"Remember when I touched your cheek and told Tsukito I was just checking your temperature?

"... Yes."

"I didn't mean what I said after that, alright. So-"

"Loki-san. You don't have to worry about that, I understand how you feel. So don't think about that anymore." Yui told him. She was glad he cleared things up but she still didn't want to be reminded of how he would never see her as more than a friend he could tease. She had figured it out now after all. That what she felt for Loki actually went deeper than friendship. The moment her friends had her in the middle of the group hug she had realised how she really felt and now she didn't know what to do. While she was cursed she hadn't dared to think about the future since she knew deep down that she wouldn't be able to make it, but now, she could live again and feared that her good relationship with Loki would end if he knew the truth.

Loki only stared down at the floor for a few seconds. Then he walked over to where they were standing and picked the boy up. "Come on, I'll go with you."

* * *

Loki, now in human form, and Yui were standing not far away from the house where the boy lived, not wanting to be seen they stood hidden among the trees. The kid had been away from his parents for days and if anyone saw them together with him they would most likely think they had something to do with his disappearance. "This is it." Yui said and turned to the boy in Loki's arms and smiled at him. "You know this is where you live, right? Just go over there and your parents will see you. Loki-san and I will stay here until they do."

Loki put the boy down. "Go on, kid."

The boy looked a little confused at first so Yui sat down on her knees in front of him and gave him a hug. "Be safe and don't wander away from your parents again. Goodbye, my sweet little boy."

She let him go and watched as he threw her a smile before he turned around and wobbled away towards the house. Halfway there he lost his balance and landed on his butt but managed to get up again and continued towards his destination. "It's like watching a smaller version of Balder." Loki snickered and Yui giggled as well.

The boy was almost there when a woman looked out the window. They could see she looked shocked and just a second later she disappeared and the front door opened. The woman ran towards the child with tears running down her face. "Hiroto!" She cried out right before she dropped to her knees and threw her arms around him.

Both Yui and Loki were smiling as they watched the sweet reunion.

"Hiroto… He is back where he belongs now." Yui said and wiped a tear away.

"Yeah."

"I guess we should go before someone sees us."

"Alright." Loki answered and grabbed her hand and started walking away.

' _Huh? Are we not going to teleport?_ ' Yui thought, confused, but she didn't question him and just went along.

When they were out of sight Loki stopped walking, let go of her hand and turned around to face her. "We're out of sight now."

"Um, yes, we are but… Aren't we heading back home?"

Loki didn't answer, instead he grabbed her left arm and pulled her towards him.

Yui, surprised and confused, felt Loki's arms coming around her body, one on her back and the other around her shoulders. After a moment, her expression softened and she slowly sneaked her arms around him as well. "Loki-san, are you alright?" She whispered softly as they just stood there, hugging each other.

"I don't know…" He answered and hugged her even tighter.

"Want to talk about it?" She was not used to see Loki acting like this, he was usually so carefree and mischievous.

"When we saw what Sisyphus did to you and what you had to endure I couldn't believe what I was seeing. And then I found you buried in the snow… I really thought I was going to lose you, damn it!"

"Loki-san…"

"We let him hurt you…"

"Don't you dare, Loki-san, this is not your fault." Yui said and pushed herself away from him. "I knew it, I knew you would blame yourselves for it. I'm alive, I'm standing here in front of you and I'm going to be alright. So stop looking at me with those sad eyes and start calling me "Kitten" and tease me about all sorts of things!" She didn't realise a tear was running down her cheek.

Loki looked at her with wide eyes.

"I really thought I wasn't going to make it... And not ever seeing you all again scared me the most…" More tears fell. "So cheer me up, Loki-san."

Loki, for once, didn't seem to know what to do and looked down to the side as he reached for something in his pocket. When he found it he took it out and held it in front of her. It was a lollipop, wrapped in purple paper with cat heads printed on it. "I like you better when you're smiling, Kitten."

Yui looked at the lollipop, smiled and wiped the tears away. "Then I will smile." She said and took it from him. "Thank you, Loki-san."

* * *

When the two were back in the cottage Yui felt like a huge burden had been lifted from her shoulders and hunger and exhaustion washed over her. "You alright?" Loki asked when he noticed how tired she looked.

"Yes, I'm just so tired… and hungry. Thanks to the curse I didn't get enough sleep and I have barely eaten anything. The pain kind of distracted me from feeling hunger and the ice tore on my skin when I was trying to sleep so… I think I'm just going to eat something and then head to bed. Thanks for staying with me, Loki-san, you can go home and rest now if you want. You must be tired, too, right?"

"You stay in here and rest, I'll go make you a sandwich." Loki answered.

"Huh? No, you don't have to do that, Loki-san-"

"I'm not tired, so I'll stay with you a little longer."

"Loki-san… Well, if… if that's what you want."

"It is, now go to bed." Loki commanded and pushed her towards the bed.

Later, when Yui was done eating, they had both somehow ended up sitting beside each other on the bed with their backs against the wall. They had spent at least half an hour talking about the past since it cheered them up to talk about something other than Yui's near death experience. It wasn't that late so Yui forced herself to stay awake. She wanted to spend more time with Loki.

"You're forcing yourself to stay awake." Loki pointed out with a grin.

"N-No I'm not!"

"You are, you are very easy to read."

"Don't say that…" Yui sighed. "How can I keep things to myself if you always see right through me?"

Loki let out a laugh. "Then don't keep things to yourself."

"All people have secrets, Loki-san. Things they don't want to tell others about."

"You don't have to tell others, just tell me."

"... Huh?"

"Don't keep secrets from me, Kitten."

Yui's cheeks turned red. "I- I'm not keeping anything from you."

"You sure about that?" Loki smirked as he leaned over her.

"I- I, um…!"

Loki burst out laughing. "I'm just teasing you!"

"... Oh…"

"You wanted me to tease you, right? Since you begged me to do it I just have to obey."

"T-That's right!" Yui exclaimed, playing along. "You sure know how to cheer me up, Loki-san."

"Right? !" Loki grinned.

"Thanks, Loki-san, I think I'm going to sleep now."

"Of course my sweet little Kitten." Loki got up from the bed and walked around it to Yui's side, he then touched the scar over her closed eye with a finger and said, "You better heal fast."

Yui smiled up at him from the bed. "I will."

Loki leaned down and kissed the scar over her cheek just like the little boy had done, making Yui's whole face turn red and she almost jumped back in surprise. "So, who do you prefer? Me or the kid?" Loki asked and grinned down at her.

Yui was too shocked to respond at first but then her expression changed and she turned her head away from him. "Well, the boy is much more sweet and innocent."

"Hah? !" Loki exclaimed. "Don't tell me you like the kid more than me, Kitten!"

Yui started giggling. ' _Two can play this game, Loki-san._ ' She thought and stood up on the bed so that she was a little taller than Loki and leaned down, placed her hands on his shoulders and kissed him on the cheek as well. "Who do you think I prefer?" She asked him with an innocent smile.

 **A/N: Next chapter in about 3 days, guys! ^_^**


	24. Chapter 24

**Previously:**

"Thanks, Loki-san, I think I'm going to sleep now."

"Of course my sweet little Kitten." Loki got up from the bed and walked around it to Yui's side, he then touched the scar over her closed eye with a finger and said, "You better heal fast."

Yui smiled up at him from the bed. "I will."

Loki leaned down and kissed the scar over her cheek just like the little boy had done, making Yui's whole face turn red and she almost jumped back in surprise. "So, who do you prefer? Me or the kid?" Loki asked and grinned down at her.

Yui was too shocked to respond at first but then her expression changed and she turned her head away from him. "Well, the boy is much more sweet and innocent."

"Hah? !" Loki exclaimed. "Don't tell me you like the kid more than me, Kitten!"

Yui started giggling. ' _Two can play this game, Loki-san._ ' She thought and stood up on the bed so that she was a little taller than Loki and leaned down, placed her hands on his shoulders and kissed him on the cheek as well. "Who do you think I prefer?" She asked him with an innocent smile.

 **Now:**

Loki looked up at the human woman in surprise. That was something he didn't expect her to do.

Yui removed her hands from his shoulders, still smiling and placed them on her hips. "Just teasing you!" She grinned with her eyes closed.

"Damn, Kitten, you got me there." Loki admitted with a smirk.

Yui opened her good eye and sat down on the bed again. "See you tomorrow?"

"Yeah."

* * *

When Yui woke up the next morning she was feeling pretty good. She had finally had a good night sleep and didn't once wake up due to pain or ice spreading over her body. But what surprised her was that she was able to open her left eye completely now and when she looked at herself in the mirror she noticed the scars were fading. They weren't as red as they were yesterday. She smiled at her reflection, realising she would heal much faster than she first thought and went to get dressed. Now she could wear her usual white dress she hadn't worn since Sisyphus cursed her. Still, the dress didn't hide the scar over her heart where he had placed the curse but she had been hiding her body from her friends since then and really didn't want to hide anymore, even if that scar looked much worse than the rest. ' _My body feels much better now, too. I don't feel so sore anymore._ '

"Kitten!"

"Waaahh!" Yui exclaimed in surprise and jumped to the side when Loki suddenly appeared in her bedroom. It was a good thing she managed to get dressed before he sneaked up on her.

"Haha, why so surprised?" Loki laughed. "We said we would see each other today and- Oh! You can open your eye again!"

"Y-Yes but-"

"Let's eat breakfast together!"

"Ah, um, yes, alright."

Guess she really wasn't getting used to him appearing out of nowhere after all. She really should have seen it coming… After breakfast they sat down on the couch for awhile and Loki took his chance to lie down with his head on Yui's lap. "Comfortable?" Yui asked, smiling down at him.

"I could fall asleep right now." Loki smiled with his eyes closed.

"You didn't get enough sleep last night?"

"Nah, gods don't need to sleep as much as you humans do. I barely slept at all last night." Loki explained.

"Oh, must be nice."

"Yeah, I guess. But it gets so boring when you have to sleep and I'm not good at waiting, so I would rather feel the need to sleep than stay up for hours and wait for you to get up."

"Aww, that's so sweet of you to say, Loki-san."

"You're fun to be around, can't help it."

"I think it's fun to be around you as well."

They didn't say more after that, instead they just enjoyed the quiet and peaceful moment they had together. They must have stayed like that for an hour before someone knocked on the door. Yui, unable to get up thanks to the "sleeping" Loki on her lap, had to call to the person on the other side of the door. "Come in!"

The door opened and in stepped Hoenir, the Norse god of silence. Surprised, Yui didn't know what to say, she had expected one of her friends to step inside, not the one who pissed them off! Her friends, especially Loki, weren't exactly happy when Hoenir had kissed her on the cheek not too long ago. "Hello there, Yui-sama, enjoying yourself I see."

"H-Hello, Hoenir-san… What can I do for you?"

"Odin asked me to come and see if you're strong enough to come to his castle. It's about Aphrodite."

"I am feeling a little better, when does he want me to be there?"

"As soon as possible if it's alright?"

"Of course, I'll come right away." But it was kind of impossible to move since Loki refused to wake up. He was actually awake, though. He just didn't want Yui to go with Hoenir. "Loki-san." She whispered. "I need to get up."

He still didn't move a muscle.

"What a bothersome god, right Yui-sama?" Hoenir asked with a grin.

"Umm, he's just a little tired. I don't mind."

"You really should spend less time with the prankster and hang out with more proper gods, like me."

"That's, um, thoughtful of you but… I like being with Loki-san." Yui answered and smiled down at Loki's "sleeping" form.

"Riiiight… Honestly I don't think he can make you happy. He's just being with you so he can play around with you and make the others jealous."

Yui looked up from Loki. "Yes, he does like to make the others jealous but I don't believe he's just playing around with me. I do believe he sees me as a friend and that's why he wants to be with me."

"Believe what you want, my dear." Hoenir smiled and walked up to her and took her hand in his. "But just hurry up and get tired of him so I can take his place."

"Umm, Hoenir-san…?"

He leaned down so his lips were almost touching her hand. "I can't wait to see his face when he finds out I stole you from hi- Ouch!"

Before Hoenir could finish, Loki had jumped up from the couch and kicked him away. "Oh shut up already!" Loki shouted as Hoenir fell to the floor. "As if I'd let that happen!"

Yui stood up from the couch. "Loki-san, I need to go to the castle." She was ignoring the fact that Loki just kicked someone.

"Yeah, I heard." Loki sighed.

Hoenir pulled himself up from the floor. "Damn prankster…" He said to himself. "Hey, I'm going to take Yui-sama to the castle now so why don't you just go home and sleep in your own couch?"

"If anyone is going to take her there it's going to be me, so get lost!"

"Odin asked _**me**_ to do it!"

"Guys, please stop!" Yui shouted and stepped in between them. "Hoenir-san, is Aphrodite going to be there with Odin-san?"

"Yes, Zeus is there as well."

"I see." Yui answered and turned to Loki. "Can you come with me?"

"What!" Hoenir exclaimed.

"I know Zeus-san and Odin-san won't let anything happen to me but I would still feel safer if Loki-san is there with me." Yui explained and took a step closer to the god of fire.

"You can count on me, Kitten." Loki smiled down at her.

"I can protect you better than he can, you know?" Hoenir pointed out.

Loki frowned at him. "After everything she's been through, don't you dare separate her from what makes her feel safe."

It was true, just the thought of meeting Aphrodite made her nervous. Yesterday, when Loki had prepared something for her to eat, he had told her that it was Aphrodite who had told Sisyphus about her. That she was part of the reason she got cursed in the first place.

Hoenir sighed. "Fine… Let's just get this over with."

Loki put his arm around Yui's shoulders as they followed Hoenir to the door and when they were outside he picked her up in his arms and flew towards the castle.

Once they were inside they went to the throne room where Odin, Zeus and Aphrodite were waiting. "Welcome, Kusanagi." Odin greeted.

"How are you feeling today?" Zeus asked.

"Thank you. I am feeling better today, the scars are fading and I can move my body easier now." Yui answered.

"That's good to hear." Odin said. "It seems your body is healing fast."

"Should we be surprised Loki is here with you?" Zeus asked with a small smirk.

"Sorry, sorry, but leaving her side is not an option." Loki grinned at the two leaders.

"Well, we don't mind." Odin said and walked over to the throne and sat down on it. "Did Hoenir tell you why you're here, Kusanagi?"

"Yes." Yui answered and threw a look at Aphrodite beside Zeus before she turned back to Odin. "Because of Aphrodite, Odin-san."

"That's right." Zeus said and grabbed his daughter's hand and pulled her towards them.

Yui took a step backwards.

"We won't let her do anything, Kusanagi, don't worry." Odin informed from his throne.

Zeus let go of Aphrodite. "Well, is there anything you want to say?"

Aphrodite just looked down at the floor.

"What's the matter, princess?" Loki asked. "Too proud to apologize?"

Yui decided to swallow her fear, took a deep breath and slowly walked towards Aphrodite. Loki looked a little uncomfortable by this. "Aphrodite." She began and the goddess looked up from the floor. "You told Sisyphus about me?"

"What if I did? You don't belong here. I had to do something to chase you away."

"The problem is your actions almost killed her instead." Hoenir pointed out.

"I wanted her out of my way. It wouldn't have mattered if she had died or not, as long as she wouldn't be here anymore."

"Aphrodite." Yui tried again. "Is being number one that important to you? Am I really that much of a threat?"

Aphrodite stared at her. "I am the most beautiful goddess there is, if some human tries to steal my position as the most desired woman I have to do something about it."

"But I don't want that position, Aphrodite. I don't want everyone to desire me." Yui tried to explain.

"One is enough, right?" Zeus asked and turned to the god of fire.

Loki's cheeks became red and he turned his head away at Zeus's statement, making Hoenir smirk at him. Yui too seemed a little embarrassed.

"It's too late for that now, human. Many are already after you, including your friends." Aphrodite told her.

"Enough of that now." Zeus said. "Kusanagi, we called you here because it is only fair that you get to be here when we decide on a punishment."

"... I understand."

"So, what do you think would be a good punishment?" Odin asked.

"Umm, I don't know if I want to be the one who decides that. I forgave Sisyphus but I will accept any punishment you give him. I can forgive Aphrodite, too, for what she did."

Aphrodite's eyes widened. "You'll forgive me? Just like that?"

Yui turned to look her in the eye. "It's the most human thing to do."

Zeus and Odin looked at each other.

"Keep this in mind, princess." Loki said to Aphrodite as he walked up to Yui. "My Kitten can forgive you if she wants but I sure won't, nor will the others. If you ever get near Yui again, I will burn a hole through your head, remember that!"

"Loki-san." Yui whispered and touched his arm gently.

"Alright, this will be your punishment, Aphrodite." Zeus began. "You are not allowed to be near Kusanagi again, you're banished from the Norse gods' land and you're under house arrest until I say otherwise."

"Consider yourself lucky that Kusanagi has such a good heart." Odin added.

"How are you going to make sure she doesn't leave her home?" Hoenir asked.

"Easy." Zeus answered and looked at the door. "Hephaestus, you may enter."

A second later, the door opened and in walked Aphrodite's husband, the god of craftsmanship. He had spiky, long red hair, a small beard, was wearing a brown loincloth, his eyes had an orange color and he also had huge muscles. He was a smith and due to him always being around fire, his skin was dark. "You called for me, Zeus-sama."

"Yes, we just decided on your wife's punishment. She's banished from here and is under house arrest, please make sure she stays at home until I think it's enough." Zeus explained.

"Of course, Zeus-sama." Hephaestus said and walked over to his wife.

"Hephaestus… I'm…" Aphrodite whispered.

"Let's go home, Aphrodite." He answered her and took her hand in his.

As the door closed behind them Zeus turned back to Yui. "Even if I believe her actions are unforgivable I must thank you for what you just did for my daughter, Kusanagi."

"I just did what I thought was right, Zeus-san. By the way, what are you going to do about Sisyphus?"

"Sisyphus has been taken back to the underworld. This time we will allow his body to age. He will spend the rest of his life imprisoned down there with no chance of ever returning."

"I see."

"Thank you for coming here today, even though you're still healing." Odin pointed out.

"Of course." Yui smiled at him.

"Now that everything has been taken care of I shall return to Mount Olympus. Take care." Zeus informed and started walking towards the door.

"Goodbye, Zeus-san." Yui called after him.

"You should go home and rest as well, Kusanagi. You look like you need it." Odin said and stood up from his throne.

"Thank you, I think I will."

"Alright then, let's go!" Loki smirked and picked her up.

"Wahh! Loki-san?" Yui exclaimed in surprise.

Loki just laughed as he left the ground and flew towards the exit, leaving Hoenir behind in the throne room with Odin.

"I will never understand what she sees in that god." Hoenir sighed.

"No one will, Hoenir, no one will…"

* * *

"Loki-san, slow down please!" Yui cried out as she was holding onto him around his neck. "Why are you in such a hurry?" They were flying at a high speed through the castle and when they flew through the exit the poor guards had to jump to the side to avoid getting hit. "I'm so sorry!" She called to them before Loki flew even higher up in the air.

Loki let out a laugh. "It's finally over! They got what they deserved and you won't be summoned anymore. Now you're all mine!"

"Yours? What about the rest of our friends?" Yui giggled.

"They'll get used to it."

"Haha, you're out of your mind."

"But you still like me, right?" He smirked and flew down towards Yui's home.

Down on the ground, their friends were waiting for them.

"She's gone again." Sif informed as she walked out from Yui's cottage to join the others, leaving the door open.

"Damn, if she continues to disappear I'm going to get worried. She didn't lock the door either." Takeru said and rubbed his head.

"Sisyphus is gone now, I'm sure she's fine." Hades pointed out.

Apollon patted Takeru's shoulder. "Fairy is probably just relaxing somewhe-"

" _Watch out!_ " A familiar female voice shouted.

"Huh?" Everyone said in unison and looked up to the sky.

Loki and Yui were flying towards them at lightning speed and weren't slowing down. "Out of the way!" Loki laughed as they got closer and closer.

"Waaaahhh!" They screamed and threw themselves out of the way, poor Balder got stuck underneath both Thor and Dionysus.

Loki flew past them and then through the open door and disappeared. They could hear a loud thud coming from inside.

They quickly got up from the snow and hurried inside. "Fairy! Loki-Loki! Are you alright? !" Apollon asked, worried. The two had landed on the couch with Yui on top of Loki. Since Loki was going so fast the crash landing caused the couch to move from the middle of the room and into the wall at least 16 feet to the side. "Ugh, Loki-san…" Yui groaned. "You just had to do that…"

"A little excitement never hurt anyone." Loki pointed out in defence.

"Excitement?" Dionysus asked from the doorway.

"You crash landed with Yui-san!" Balder added.

"Can't you be a little more careful, damn it." Takeru uttered.

"Remember Yui-chan's body is still weak!" Freyja cried out.

Yui pulled away from Loki and jumped down from the couch. "Still alive." She smiled at them. "Sorry we almost hit you."

"Don't worry about it." Freyr said and smiled back at her.

"This was obviously Loki Laevatein's fault." Tsukito pointed out, still wearing his poker face.

"The most important thing is-" Sif smiled and walked up to her. "-that your body seems to heal fast." She continued and touched the side of Yui's left eye with her fingertips. "You can open your eye again."

"And the scars are fading." Hades added as he too made his way over to them, closely followed by the rest.

"The curse has been lifted, so it won't take long until the damage disappears. Isn't that great? It's great isn't it?" Apollon said in excitement.

"It is." Yui agreed, giving him a sweet smile. "You all came to check on me?"

"Of course." Thor answered.

"We worry, you know." Balder added. "It feels like if we leave you alone something bad will happen."

Takeru narrowed his eyes at the floor. "Yeah, there's no guarantee something like this won't happen again… And we will have to return to our own worlds soon now that Sisyphus has been captured."

"Everyone…" Yui said in a low voice. "I understand you're worried, I do. All I can do is promise you I will be very careful from now on, so please don't worry too much, alright? I'll be fine now."

"You heard the lady." Loki joked as he stood up from the couch but his expression changed when his eyes met the others'. "I will look after her. You can trust me on that."

Wide and surprised eyes looked at him for at least 20 seconds before Apollon spoke. "Alright! I guess we have nothing to worry about then!" He smiled cheerfully.

"Well, I do believe Loki is strong enough to keep Kusanagi safe." Hades stated.

"We worried for nothing." Tsukito added.

Freyja, Freyr, Sif, Thor and Balder moved to stand close to Yui. "Don't forget we're still here, Loki." Balder said with a smile and placed a hand on Yui's shoulder. "We'll keep her safe together."

 **Silence ~**

"No way, no way!" Loki exclaimed and ran up to them, snatching Yui away from them and hugged her close to his body. "I'm the only one she needs!"

"L-Loki-san?" Yui stuttered in surprise.

"Hey, you can't keep her to yourself!" Freyr shouted.

"That's right! I want my piece of her, too!" Freyja agreed and tried to grab Yui's hand but Loki moved to the side right before she could. He then picked Yui up again and started flying towards the door.

"Get back here, prankster!" Freyja shouted and flew after them out the door. "Give me back my little flower!"

The rest inside Yui's cottage could clearly hear Loki's laughter and Freyja's shouts as they were flying around with a nervous Yui stuck in the middle and couldn't help but laugh at the whole situation. "Oh well." Balder smiled. "Really can't do anything about him."

"Loki-Loki will never change!" Apollon laughed.

"As long as he can make her happy." Hades said, smiling.

"If he hurts her I'll kill him!" Takeru warned.

 **A/N: There you go! Next chapter will be out in 3-4 days!**


	25. Chapter 25

**Previously:**

"No way, no way!" Loki exclaimed and ran up to them, snatching Yui away from them and hugged her close to his body. "I'm the only one she needs!"

"L-Loki-san?" Yui stuttered in surprise.

"Hey, you can't keep her to yourself!" Freyr shouted.

"That's right! I want my piece of her, too!" Freyja agreed and tried to grab Yui's hand but Loki moved to the side right before she could. He then picked Yui up again and started flying towards the door.

"Get back here, prankster!" Freyja shouted and flew after them out the door. "Give me back my little flower!"

The rest inside Yui's cottage could clearly hear Loki's laughter and Freyja's shouts as they were flying around with a nervous Yui stuck in the middle and couldn't help but laugh at the whole situation. "Oh well." Balder smiled. "Really can't do anything about him."

"Loki-Loki will never change!" Apollon laughed.

"As long as he can make her happy." Hades said, smiling.

"If he hurts her I'll kill him!" Takeru warned.

 **Now:**

Two days later Yui seemed to be doing just fine, that was what Eir told her when she came to check on her. She scars had lost its red color and they were barely visible anymore. "You have healed very nicely." Eir commented, satisfied with what she saw.

"That's good to hear." Yui smiled. "I do feel great."

"Wonderful. Oh, before I forget." Eir said and reached for her cloth bag and took out two objects from it.

It was the star-shaped stone she got from Regin and the bottle with blood from the dragon Fafnir. "Those are-!" Yui exclaimed. She had almost forgotten about them.

"The stone is broken and hopefully you won't need the dragon's blood anymore but they still belong to you, so you should decide what you want to do with them."

"Thank you, Eir-san, I thought I lost them." Yui thanked her and took the stone in her hand. ' _I said I would visit them._ ' She thought.

"We found them in your pocket."

"I see. I think I'll keep them, just in case."

"That's fine. Have a good day and take care of yourself now." Eir smiled as she prepared to leave.

"You, too, Eir-san."

 **1 week later:**

Yui was taking a nice and slow walk through the big village that surrounded the castle. She was healed from head to toe and not a single trace of the curse could be seen on her body, she was back to normal again. She had been taking it easy up until now, except from those times when Loki had spent time with her, but since she was alright now she felt like she could continue from where she left before she got cursed. Her friends had returned to their own worlds on the day Eir had checked up on her but they didn't stay away for long since they all decided to return today. Yui couldn't understand why they would do this for her but it had been decided that she, together with her friends and a couple of other gods would have a feast in Odin's castle later today, to celebrate her recovery. Once she was done with her walk she would have to return home and prepare, Sif visited her yesterday and she had a pink dress with her she wanted Yui to wear on this day. It was a strapless dress that went all the way down to her toes.

Realising that time had passed quickly she turned around to walk back home again.

* * *

' _It's not so bad actually._ ' Yui thought as she looked at herself in the mirror. ' _I think I like it._ '

The pink dress she got from Sif was on and the hairpin she got from Tsukito decorated her hair nicely. The only thing left to do was to wait until it was time to leave, so she went out of the bedroom and walked over to the couch with a book in her hand. What she didn't know was that a certain god had sneaked inside and was hiding behind the couch she was just about to sit down on.

"What's up, Kitten!" Loki laughed as he jumped up to reveal himself.

"Aaaahh!" Yui screamed and hit him on the side of the head with the book and Loki fell back down behind the couch. Yui blinked a few times and then realised what just had happened and hurried to jump up on the couch to see if Loki was alright. "Loki-san, I'm so sorry! Are you-!" She didn't get to finish before Loki's head popped up right in front of hers and kissed her quickly on the cheek. "Ah!" She exclaimed and touched the cheek with her hand.

"Someone's feisty today!" Loki grinned as he rubbed the side of his head where she had hit him.

Yui soon forgot to be embarrassed about the kiss. "I-I'll go get some ice for you!"

"Don't need it."

"But-"

"Relax, Kitten, it didn't really hurt. You're too weak to cause any damage." He joked.

"Watch it, or I'll hit you again." Yui joked back. "Wait, how did you get-" She asked as she turned towards the door she knew was locked and saw that the window frame beside it wasn't exactly on the wall anymore but on the floor, leaning against the door. "-inside…"

Loki just grinned and pretended he didn't know what she was talking about. "Huh? What do you mean, Kitten?"

"Loki-san!"

"Haha I'm sorry, I'm sorry, but the door was locked!"

"Have you ever heard of knocking? !"

"Whaaat? But there is no fun in that." Loki pouted.

"Of course... What was I thinking?" Yui sighed and jumped down from the couch and walked over to the bookshelf. "Can you please just put it back?" She asked as she put the book back on the shelf, she would never be able to read in peace if Loki was here.

"Alright, alright, I'll put it back." Loki snickered.

Once it was back where it belonged Yui sat down on the couch, closely followed by Loki. "You look good by the way." Loki said as he sat down beside her.

"Thank you…" Yui blushed and looked down. "We must leave soon, right?"

"Yeah, can't wait. I'm starving."

"I'm a little hungry, too. Anyway, was there anything you wanted?"

"Hah?"

"Why did you come? I figured there must be a reason you came here."

Loki grinned and put his arm around her naked shoulders and pulled her closer. "Do I need to have a reason to come visit you?"

Yui's face turned red as she looked up at him and quickly looked away. "No… I guess not…"

Loki's eyes suddenly became more serious and he used his other hand to grab her chin and made her look at him again. "Don't look away."

"W-Wha-?"

Loki's face came closer.

Yui's eyes widened a little. ' _Is, is he going to-?_ ' Loki's lips were so close to hers now she realised he wasn't going to play a prank on her, so she opened her mouth slightly and slowly closed her eyes. ' _Am I dreaming?_ '

But sadly, their lips barely touched when someone suddenly knocked on the door, making them pull away from each other.

"C-Coming!" Yui stuttered and got up from the couch to open the door.

"Hello, Kusanagi."

"Thor-san? Hello, what brings you here?"

"Odin asked me to escort you."

"He did?"

"Because he couldn't find Loki, he asked me." Thor explained.

"He couldn't find me because I'm already here." Loki grinned as he walked up to the door and stood behind Yui.

"I figured you were."

"Then why did you come?"

Yui looked between the two gods, unsure of what to say.

"To make sure you wouldn't hold her back."

"Hold her back?"

"Make her late."

Loki pouted. "Don't you trust me, Thor?"

"No."

"Um, guys?" Yui said.

Loki ignored her, instead he hugged her from behind, rested his head on top of hers and smirked. "You came at a bad time."

"Oh?"

Yui's cheeks turned red, remembering what they were about to do before Thor came.

Thor stared at Loki for a few seconds before he spoke. "I was right after all." Then he turned around to leave. "Let's go."

Loki and Yui looked at each other and then back at Thor. "What?" Yui asked. "Hey, Thor, what do you mean?" Loki added, confused.

"Come on, Loki-san." Yui said and pulled him out of the cottage and closed the door behind them. "Wait for us, Thor-san!" She called as she and Loki hurried after the god of thunder.

"You have 3 seconds to tell us what you meant!" Loki warned.

"..."

When Thor didn't answer he was soon hit in the back of his head by a snowball.

Yui stopped walking. "Loki-san!"

"Hey, Thor! Tell me already!" Loki tried again but Thor just continued towards the castle. "If you don't tell me, then I- Ugh!" Yui had just thrown a snowball that had hit him in the shoulder and he turned around to look at her in surprise.

"Don't throw snowballs at him to make him talk!"

"But you just threw one at me!"

"To make you stop!"

Loki picked up some snow in his hand and made another ball out of it. "Watch it, Kitten, you'll regret you did that."

Yui blinked two times. "Oh no…"

Loki grinned and threw the ball at her and hit her in the stomach before she could dodge it. But she just let out a laugh and threw one back at him.

Meanwhile, Thor had stopped walking and was looking at the two as they had a snowball fight. He didn't want to interfere but since they just kept fighting and was getting further and further away he felt like he didn't have a choice. "Oh well…" He said to himself and raised his hand towards the sky.

"Now you're going to get it!" Loki laughed as he ran towards Yui with a huge snowball over his head.

He didn't get to throw it, though. A lightning suddenly came from the sky and hit the ground right in front of him, making him drop the snowball as he fell backwards and landed on his butt. Yui was standing a little further away but still jumped in surprise when the lightning struck. The two slowly turned their heads towards Thor.

"It's time." Was all Thor said as he turned around and continued walking towards the castle.

"C-Coming!" Yui called and ran after him.

"Hey! Wait for me!" Loki exclaimed.

* * *

"There you are!" Apollon laughed when he spotted the three coming their way. He and the others had already gathered in the dining hall and the only ones missing were Loki, Yui and Thor. In the middle of the room stood a huge round table decorated with candles and scattered around the room were the gods who would attend the dinner, all of Yui's friends, Odin, Frigg, Zeus, Bragi, Vidar, Tyr and Hoenir.

"I knew you would look good in that!" Sif smiled at Yui.

"Thank you for the dress, Sif-san, I really like it." Yui smiled back.

"It's good to see you've recovered, Yui." Frigg said. "You're a real fighter."

"Kusanagi Yui looks beautiful." Tsukito commented.

"Y-Yeah, she does." Takeru agreed.

"Indeed." Hades added.

"Thank you." A smiling and blushing Yui replied.

"Oh, you've got some snow in your hair, Yui-san." Balder pointed out and walked up to her to brush it away.

"Thank you, Balder-san." Yui smiled awkwardly.

"Kusanagi Yui, did you fall on your way here?" Tsukito asked.

"Ah, um, no, not exactly…"

"Then why-?" Takeru was about to ask when Thor spoke up.

"Snowball fight."

"Hehe, yeah, it was fun!" Loki grinned.

"You dragged her into a snowball fight?" Hades asked.

"Not my fault this time, she threw one at me first."

Yui quickly turned around to face him. "Only because you threw one at Thor-san!"

"Because he didn't tell us what he meant!"

"You can't use violence all the time!"

"You used violence as well!"

"Loki-san!"

"What did Thor-Thor say exactly?" Apollon asked, confused.

"He said that he was right after all." Loki explained.

"And what did you mean by that, Thor?" Balder asked.

With the same stone face he always wore, Thor answered, "Loki is falling for her whether he likes it or not."

 _ **Silence ~**_

And all eyes turned to Loki.

But before Loki could speak, Odin walked up to them. "Even if I enjoy the show it is time to take your seats."

When everyone was seated Yui was sitting between Loki and Apollon. When she glanced over at Loki she noticed that he for once didn't concentrate on teasing her or brag about himself, instead he had a serious look on his face and was looking straight forward. He seemed to be thinking about something and Yui wondered if it had something to do with what Thor had said just a few minutes ago. ' _But why would that bother him?_ ' She thought and turned her head away from him. Just seconds later 7 servants entered the room with the food and placed it on the table. Yui's eyes soon found a familiar face and she had to stare at her for a moment to make sure it actually was who she thought it was. There was no mistaking it, this was definitely the servant goddess with the pink hair who had told her about the elves. When the goddess noticed Yui was looking at her she stopped what she was doing and smiled widely.

"Helga-san?" Yui said, a little surprised seeing her there.

"Yui-sama!" Helga exclaimed and hurried around the table to greet her.

The gods around the table followed her movements with confused looks on their faces and the other servants looked at their colleague in either surprise or panic. They had only been told to serve the food, not to interact with the ones they would serve.

Yui stood up from her seat as Helga got closer.

"Yui-sama, thank goodness you're alright!" Helga cried out as she grabbed both of Yui's hands.

"Who is she?" Takeru asked.

"Isn't she the one we saw in one of the flashbacks? When we found out about the curse?" Dionysus pointed out.

Helga acted like she didn't hear them and only focused on Yui. "I knew we had to serve food for a special occasion but I had no idea you would be here, master!"

"Master?" The gods said in unison.

"I'm sorry, Helga-san, I should have visited you sooner but-" Yui began.

"Oh don't think about that now, Yui-sama! Your body, is it healed? Are you really alright? When I heard about the curse I got really worried."

Yui smiled at her. "Yes, I'm alright now. You helped me find the information I needed back then, thank you."

"Don't mention it, Yui-sama, as your personal servant I have to do whatever I can to please you."

"Personal-?" The gods said in unison once again.

"Kusanagi." Odin said and Yui turned her head towards him. "I did not know you had chosen a personal servant, if I had known that you wanted one I could have provided you with one much sooner."

"Ah, no, that's not-" Yui stuttered.

"Forgive me for speaking so freely my king but Yui-sama didn't choose me, I chose her." Helga explained. "And I know she only agreed because it was what I wanted."

Frigg turned to Yui. "Is this true?"

"Yes, it is." Yui answered her.

"Then I guess we can forgive Helga for her actions." Odin said and leaned back in the chair. "You may continue."

Helga let go of Yui's hands. "Thank you, my king. Yui-sama, come to me anytime you want."

"I'll keep that in mind." Yui answered her and sat down again.

"Now then, let's eat." Zeus said and the servants immediately started moving again, including Helga.

When the food was served and the servants had left the room everyone started talking about various things with each other as they ate and Yui would soon be able to ask the question she had been meaning to ask.

* * *

As everyone was waiting for the dessert Yui turned to Odin. "Odin-san, may I ask you something?"

This caught the gods' attention and they stopped talking and started listening to what Yui had to say.

"Of course you may." Odin answered her.

"Um, it's about what we talked about a few days ago."

 **Flashback:**

"Welcome, Kusanagi, what was it you wanted to talk with me about?" Odin asked.

"Thank you, Odin-san. I was just wondering, would it be possible for me to visit the ones who tried to help me with the curse? I said I would visit them if I survived and they really helped me out alot."

"I see. Well, it's only natural you want to thank them for their help. I don't mind if you do but I'm going to ask you to wait a few days, just until you've healed completely. Even if you do look better you do seem like you need to rest more."

 **End of flashback:**

"I am completely healed now and all of my strength has returned to me." Yui continued. "So, I would really like to visit them."

"Them? Who are you talking about, Yui-chan?" Freyja asked.

"She is talking about the outcasts who helped her when she was under Sisyphus's curse." Odin explained before Yui could. "She wants to thank them for their help."

"Now I remember." Apollon said. "You're talking about the ones we saw in the flashbacks, right?"

"Yes." Yui confirmed. "They did what they could to make it easier for me."

"Well then." Odin said and turned his head to a servant who stood by the door and nodded at him. The servant bowed before he opened the door and left.

"What is going on?" Balder asked, confused.

"We have a surprise for you, Kusanagi." Zeus said.

A minute later the door opened again and everyone turned to look. The servant entered the room again, close followed by 8 creatures. 4 dwarves, 1 elf, 2 centaurs and 1 goddess.

Yui's eyes widened at what she saw. All the people she wanted to see were there and she slowly stood up from the chair, never taking her eyes off them.

"We thought it would be better to invite them all here and surprise you." Odin smiled.

"Everyone…" Yui said quietly. "you're here…"

"Hello, Kusanagi-san. It's good to see you again." Regin greeted. The rest didn't say anything but they were looking at her with smiling faces.

A tear fell from Yui's eye and she slowly wiped it away before she stepped away from the table and started walking towards them. Regin met her halfway and hugged her. The two brothers Fjalar and Galar were right behind him, waiting for their turn. "Regin-san… thank you so much for everything." Yui whispered.

"I'm so glad you're alright, we all are." Regin smiled and let go of her. He then moved to the side so the other two could greet her as well.

"You look much better now, Kusanagi." Galar pointed out.

"You do." Fjalar agreed.

"Thank you Galar-san, Fjalar-san." Yui smiled down at them. "You were very kind to me back then." Her eyes then found Otr, in his dwarf form, a little further away. "Otr-san."

"Hello, Yui-san… You look well."

Yui walked up to him but before she could say anything he took her hand in his and kissed it.

 **A/N: Next chapter in about 4 days guys! :)**


	26. Chapter 26

**Previously:**

"Hello, Kusanagi-san. It's good to see you again." Regin greeted. The rest didn't say anything but they were looking at her with smiling faces.

A tear fell from Yui's eye and she slowly wiped it away before she stepped away from the table and started walking towards them. Regin met her halfway and hugged her. The two brothers Fjalar and Galar were right behind him, waiting for their turn. "Regin-san… thank you so much for everything." Yui whispered.

"I'm so glad you're alright, we all are." Regin smiled and let go of her. He then moved to the side so the other two could greet her as well.

"You look much better now, Kusanagi." Galar pointed out.

"You do." Fjalar agreed.

"Thank you Galar-san, Fjalar-san." Yui smiled down at them. "You were very kind to me back then." Her eyes then found Otr, in his dwarf form, a little further away. "Otr-san."

"Hello, Yui-san… You look well."

Yui walked up to him but before she could say anything he took her hand in his and kissed it.

 **Now:**

The gods around the table gasped at the sight but still managed to hold themselves back from doing anything about it. They knew Yui wouldn't appreciate it if they did but they still didn't like it when some dwarf they didn't know put his lips on her.

"O-Otr-san…" Yui stuttered.

Otr removed his lips from her hand but didn't let go of her hand. "When I heard you had survived and you wanted to see us I didn't hesitate. I wanted to see you, too."

Yui blushed a little at his words and this caused Loki to narrow his eyes.

"Move, dwarf." Einar, the elf, said as he walked up to them and pushed Otr out of the way. "I see you're fine now." He told Yui and placed a hand on her naked shoulder. "You look much cuter now when you're not covered in ice anymore."

Yui giggled. "Thanks, Einar-san. Thank all of you for your help."

"Thank **_you_** for the payment." Einar smirked.

A second later Einar too was pushed away by the centaur named Alexandro. "Yui, it's a pleasure meeting you again." He grinned, bent down and took her hand, he had to lower his whole horse body to be able to reach her. He then pulled her towards him and hugged her. "To think that such a beautiful creature was hidden behind all of that ice."

"That's enough, Alexandro." Chiron told him as he patted him on the shoulder.

"Chiron-san, thank you for last time." Yui smiled up at him.

"It was my pleasure, Yui-chan, even if I wasn't of much help."

Yui shook her head. "No, you helped me with my wounds, I'm very grateful for that."

The goddess Iaso moved to stand beside Chiron. "I got worried when you suddenly disappeared right in front of our eyes back then. I was afraid you had accepted your fate."

"I'm sorry, Iaso-san. It was a close call, though."

"I know and I understand. You barely had any energy left and you looked so tired and weak. I'm sorry I couldn't help you either."

"You did plenty, all of you did. You took care of me when my friends couldn't. You have no idea how grateful I am to all of you, thank you, you helped save my life." Yui said before she bowed at them in gratitude.

Her friends, the gods, had been quiet all this time but had observed what was going on between Yui and the strangers Odin and Zeus had invited closely. They could completely understand why Yui was grateful to them and wanted to thank them but it still made them a little sad because they were the ones who should have protected her, not the outcasts. And besides, the way the outcasts were gathered around their human friend and the way they looked at her reminded them of themselves. They remembered how they used to gather around her to get her attention and keep her safe, now it was like she had found new friends, friends who had helped her because they couldn't. But they were absolutely not going to give her up. She was way too precious to them, so they did the only right thing to do. Apollon, Hades and Balder got up from their seats and made their way over to Yui and the others. "I, Apollon, the Greek god of the sun, thank you for helping our dear friend. We were unable to do so, therefore we are grateful to you and will never forget the things you have done for her."

"Apollon-san…" Yui uttered in surprise.

A moment later, Apollon, Balder and Hades were bowing their heads at them the same way Yui did and the outcasts looked at them in surprise and confusion. They hadn't expected the gods to act this way. Did this human mean so much to them that they were willing to swallow their pride?

"I welcome you to our castle, friends." Frigg spoke. "Did you have a safe journey?"

"We had no problem getting here, queen Frigg." Regin answered politely. "I must thank you for sending someone to tell us about Kusanagi-san's condition and to invite us to the home of gods."

"This was all for Yui's sake." Bragi pointed out calmly.

"If Yui-san wants to meet you then we will allow it." Tyr added.

"We thank you for that." Chiron smiled before he turned to Yui once again. "Unfortunately we don't have time to stay much longer."

"We have to return soon I'm afraid." Iaso said.

Yui smiled at them. "I understand. Thank you for coming here today."

"For you I will visit any time." Otr smirked up at her.

"Of course." Alexandro agreed and moved closer to her. "You are the first human I've ever met. I'm definitely going to come visit you again."

"Don't scare the girl, horse." Einar sighed and put himself between the centaur and Yui. "If you ever need anything, you know where to find me." He winked at her.

"Guys…" Yui smiled.

"Well then, we should go now. Take care Kusanagi-san!" Regin called as he and the others turned to leave.

"I hope we meet again!" Iaso added.

"Me, too! Have a safe trip home!" Yui called after them.

The servant who had let them in followed them through the door to show them the way out and closed it behind him. For a few seconds Yui stood there smiling before she turned around and walked back to her seat, followed by Apollon, Hades and Balder.

"Are you satisfied now, Kusanagi?" Zeus asked.

"I am, thank you so much for doing that." Yui answered him as she sat down. One thing she noticed was that her friends were smiling, yet seemed sad about something. "Everyone, what's wrong?"

"What do you mean, Fairy?" Apollon asked, he was smiling widely with his eyes closed.

"Yeah, we are just very happy for you." Balder agreed.

"Everything is just fine." Takeru told her. He had a small smile planted on his face as well.

Yui took a good look at them all and opened her mouth to speak. "You know I know you better than that. I can see you are forcing yourselves to smile. Please, tell me what's wrong…"

Her friends sighed in defeat and dropped their smiles. "You can see right through us, my little flower." Freyja pointed out and leaned back in the chair.

"As expected from Kusanagi." Freyr said with closed eyes.

"Did I do something you didn't like?" Yui asked her friends, worried she had hurt them without realising it.

"You did nothing wrong, Kusanagi-san." Dionysus assured her.

"It's just-..." Hades started.

"We got jealous." Tsukito admitted.

"What?" Yui asked in surprise. "Why?"

"Because they were the ones who protected you instead of us." Loki explained, not looking her in the eye.

"And that's what friends are supposed to do, right? Protect what's precious to them." Takeru added with his eyes glued down at the table.

"I guess we just thought it looked like you had found new friends." Sif uttered.

Yui's surprised look turned into a smile. "So that's how it is… I'm sorry everyone, I didn't realise how much this affected you but I promise you that you have nothing to worry about. It's true that I may have made new friends but there's no way they're going to replace all of you. And believe me when I say that I would have gone to you for help, not them, if I had been able to."

"Fairy…" Apollon uttered quietly.

"So don't worry, alright?" Yui continued. "You're all my precious friends and there's no way I'm going to throw away our relationship. You are far more important to me than anything."

Yui's words hit them right in the heart and some of them had to look away to hide their blushing faces while the rest looked at the human girl with wide eyes and mouths slightly open.

"T-That was so beautiful, Yui-chan!" Freyja suddenly cried out.

"F-Freyja-san?" Yui said, surprised.

"What a relief…" Balder sighed before his forehead hit the table.

"It's a good thing you told them this, Yui." Frigg smiled at her. "Your friends looked really worried as you were talking with the outcasts."

"Oh…"

"Anyway…" Zeus started. "Now that everyone has calmed down we have an announcement to make."

"About?" Hoenir asked.

"The island we sent Kusanagi to is almost ready." Odin continued.

"And we want all of you to "try it out" before we let anyone else enter." Zeus finished.

"Awesome!" Dionysus exclaimed.

"Hell yeah!" Takeru uttered as well.

"Me, too?" The older god, Bragi, asked in confusion.

"Yes." Frigg confirmed. "We need you to keep an eye on these young ones."

"Don't you trust us to keep the island intact?" Loki grinned.

"No." Odin, Zeus, Frigg and Bragi said in unison.

* * *

After the dessert Odin had told them they could stay in his castle during the night and gather in the throne room the day after. They were free to take any guest room they wanted and a servant would be sent to their rooms in the morning when it was time to leave. Yui and her friends were talking about the island in excitement as they were walking through the hall towards the guest rooms. "This is going to be so much fun! It's going to be fun, right?" Apollon laughed.

"Absolutely!" Takeru agreed.

"I can't wait to see what it's going to look like over there!" Sif said in excitement.

"Kusanagi Yui had good ideas for the island." Tsukito pointed out.

"I'm going for the spa house!" Dionysus uttered. "If I can have a drink at the same time it would be even better."

"As long as you don't drop the glass…" Yui giggled.

"You'll survive one day without drinking." Hades told Dionysus.

"No, I can't. Wine tastes even better while you relax in hot water."

When everyone started laughing and discussed Dionysus's cravings Loki took his chance and grabbed Yui's hand and pulled her to the side. They disappeared behind a wall before anyone could see them. "L-Loki-san, what are you-?"

"Quiet…" Loki whispered and waited for the others to leave.

Yui stayed quiet as he wanted. Her back was against the wall and Loki's body was pressed against hers.

Once their friends were out of sight Loki let go of her but just enough for her to move her arms, he was still standing close to her. "Loki-san, what is it?"

"Shall we continue?" Loki asked.

"Continue?"

"From where we left off."

"...Oh…" Was all Yui got out when she realised what he meant.

Loki's eyes turned serious as he leaned down and buried his face in her neck and started kissing it. Yui didn't protest, she didn't want to protest. Her breathing became shorter and her cheeks turned red as she felt Loki's right hand on her hip and his kisses became more intense, she even turned her head to the side to give him more space. "Loki-...san…" She breathed out.

But then Loki stopped what he was doing and rested his head against her shoulder. "Why…?" He whispered.

"...?"

"Why am I feeling this way?"

"Loki-san?"

"This wasn't supposed to happen."

Yui understood what he meant. This wasn't supposed to go further than teasing and fooling around. But here they were…

"Do you want me…?"

Loki's question caught her off guard and her eyes widened. She looked down at him but all she saw was his red hair since his head was still buried in her shoulder. After a moment of silence she finally answered… "...Yes…"

Now it was Loki's turn to be quiet and for about a minute they just stood there with their bodies close to each other. "Damn that Thor." He finally spoke. "He realised it before I did."

Loki's head left Yui's shoulder so that he was now standing straight, looking down at a blushing and confused Yui. ' _I… I have to tell him._ ' Yui thought. She couldn't stand it anymore. "I'm… I'm sorry, Loki-san, I wasn't planning on telling you." Tears threatened to fall. "I'm in love with you… I'm sorry."

Loki's eyes widened slightly before they softened again. "Why are you apologizing?"

Yui looked down at the floor. "Because, like you said, this wasn't supposed to happen."

A brief pause occurred before Loki spoke again. He placed his right hand on her naked shoulder and leaned down. "Look at me."

Yui, unable to refuse him, looked up from the floor and allowed him to move even closer to her. His forehead then touched hers for a few seconds and both closed their eyes as their lips found each other. Yui slowly laid her hands on his shoulders and Loki in return placed his hands on her waist to hold her closer as they kissed. They stayed like that for several minutes before they separated but their hands were still glued to each other. "It seems…" Loki started. "I've fallen for you as well."

Yui smiled to herself and leaned her head against his chest. "This didn't turn out the way you had planned."

"Not at all." Loki smirked. "But it still turned out well."

"Mm."

It felt good for both of them to admit what they really felt for each other, especially after everything that had happened. It felt like a huge boulder had been lifted off their shoulders. After a few minutes they decided to head towards the guest rooms hand in hand. The others seemed to have disappeared into their rooms already so no one saw them when they stopped by one of the empty rooms and looked inside. The bed was pretty big, two people could definitely fit in it. That was, of course, the first thing Loki noticed. "Want some company?" He grinned down at her.

Yui looked like she was thinking hard about something before she answered. "... A-Alright… but don't try anything."

Loki got quiet and stared at her in surprise. "You'll let me stay with you? !" He exclaimed.

His outburst made Yui jump. "H-Huh? !" She stuttered. "W-Well- I just thought- I- We-!"

Loki started laughing.

"W-Why are you laughing? !" She cried out.

"Because you're so freaking adorable!" He laughed as he was holding his stomach. "I'll never get tired of hanging out with you!"

Yui didn't say anything else after that, she just stood there, blushing like crazy and waited for Loki to stop laughing.

When he did, he took a step towards her and placed a hand on top of her head. "I'll stay with you if you want." He smirked.

"You don't have to… if it was meant as a joke."

"I was serious, I just didn't expect you to let me."

"I just thought it would be alright, since we both feel the same way…"

"Isn't that cute." A voice said from just a little further down the hall.

Both Loki and Yui looked to the side in surprise and Loki pulled his hand away from her head as they did.

It was Hoenir. He was standing there with two glasses of wine in his hands, smirking at them.

"Hoenir-san." Yui managed to get out. "Hello, I didn't expect to see you here."

"Hello again, Yui-sama. I see you two are even closer than before."

Loki narrowed his eyes at him. "Don't you have something better to do?"

"Actually, I have. Dionysus and I are going to have a glass of wine as we play Twister with Hades-san and Takeru."

"Ah, I see." Yui answered as she sweat dropped. "Have fun."

"We will, good night Yui-sama, sweet- uhum- _**dreams**_." He grinned before he passed them and continued towards the room where the others were waiting.

Once he was out of sight Loki turned towards Yui again. "Well then." He said as he grabbed her shoulders, spun her around, pushed her inside the room and closed the door behind them.

"That was embarrassing." Yui sighed. "He heard us."

"Who cares." Loki said and sat down in one of the two chairs by a small, round table.

"Do you think he's going to tell everyone?"

"They probably already know something was going on. If not, Thor definitely made them realise."

Yui sighed and sat down on the edge of the bed. "Oh well…" Then her eyes suddenly widened, making Loki look at her in confusion.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

Yui looked down at her dress, then at the bed she was sitting on and then at Loki. "We… don't have anything to sleep in."

"... Pffhahahaha!"

"Aaaand you're laughing again…"

"Guess we just have to sleep naked!" Loki said between the laughs.

Then a pillow hit him in the face and landed in his lap.

"You wish!" Yui shouted at him.

"Haha, sorry, sorry, Kitten!" Loki laughed. "In our underwear then?"

Yui stared at him for a few seconds and then looked down at the floor. "No other choice, huh?"

"Fine by me!" Loki said in excitement. He seemed a little too excited actually.

Yui started blushing again and moved backwards on the bed so that she could rest her legs on it. "We just confessed to each other and you're already going to see me in nothing but my underwear."

"I've already seen much of your body you know. On the island, remember? Oh, and before the kid woke you up from your coma only your private parts were covered by two towels." Loki explained like it was nothing.

Yui looked up at him and her whole face turned red. "W-What? !"

"Yes, the others saw you as well, when we came to see how the ice had spread."

"...!"

"You look a little pale, Kitten."

Yui placed a hand over her face and sighed deeply. "That's it, I can never get married now."

"Aren't you exaggerating? I would marry you any day."

Yui's eyes widened and she quickly removed her hand. "Loki-san! Don't even joke about that!"

"Hehe, you got happy." Loki stated.

"Wha-? No, I didn't!"

"Yes, you did. It's written all over your face."

"Loki-san, stop teasing me!" She cried out and let her body fall down onto the bed so that she was now lying on her back.

"Loki."

Yui lifted her head from the bed. "Hah?"

"Call me Loki. Just Loki."

She looked at him for a moment and then let her head fall back down. She closed her eyes and tried saying it. "... Loki…" When she heard footsteps coming towards her she could sense what was about to happen and she quickly sat up again to avoid it. But too late. The last thing she saw before she found herself on her back again was Loki's grinning face and his mouth saying, "Let's make out!" He put his entire weight on her and started kissing her neck, quickly working his way up.

"Loki, I told you not to try anything!"

 **A/N: Together at last! Next chapter will be out in about 3-4 days!**


	27. Chapter 27

**Previously:**

"Aren't you exaggerating? I would marry you any day."

Yui's eyes widened and she quickly removed her hand. "Loki-san! Don't even joke about that!"

"Hehe, you got happy." Loki stated.

"Wha-? No, I didn't!"

"Yes, you did. It's written all over your face."

"Loki-san, stop teasing me!" She cried out and let her body fall down onto the bed so that she was now lying on her back.

"Loki."

Yui lifted her head from the bed. "Hah?"

"Call me Loki. Just Loki."

She looked at him for a moment and then let her head fall back down. She closed her eyes and tried saying it. "... Loki…" When she heard footsteps coming towards her she could sense what was about to happen and she quickly sat up again to avoid it. But too late. The last thing she saw before she found herself on her back again was Loki's grinning face and his mouth saying, "Let's make out!" He put his entire weight on her and started kissing her neck, quickly working his way up.

"Loki, I told you not to try anything!"

 **Now:**

Yui was standing in front of the mirror in the bathroom after a more or less intense make out session. She was feeling embarrassed, when Loki had started kissing her she had shouted at him but it didn't take long before she got really into it and kissed him back. Loki had, surprisingly, asked her what was alright and what wasn't and had only touched her where she had allowed him to. Yui had even surprised herself by letting him touch her so intimately. He had for instance caressed the sides of her stomach and even gotten a handful of her chest without any protests from her. She had been so caught up in the moment she only now realised what they actually had been doing and wondered what would have happened if they had continued. Now she was in the bathroom, taking off her dress as Loki waited for her in the bed.

Standing only in her bra and panties she hesitated a little. ' _Is this really alright? It's not like anything else is going to happen. We're just going to sleep, that's all… Skin to… skin…_ ' She thought nervously. She shook her head and grabbed the door handle ' _I'm thinking too much!_ ' and opened the door.

"Hello!" Loki grinned.

"Waaaaah!" Yui screamed in surprise as she fell backwards and landed on her butt on the cold floor.

Loki had been standing right outside the door, waiting for her so he could scare the hell out of her. He obviously succeeded. "Sorry, there's no way I'm going to stop doing this just because we're together now, Kitten!" He laughed. "You're stuck with a very troublesome god, you better be prepa- ah…" No more words came out after he noticed the surprised and adorable expression on Yui's face. She looked so vulnerable and cute the way she was sitting on the floor, looking at him with those big eyes and with barely any clothes on her body.

He thought she looked hot. Big words, considering he was the god of fire.

"Y-You're staring, Loki…" Yui whispered, covering her body the best she could with her arms. She would have shouted at him for scaring her like that but when she saw the way he was looking at her she couldn't bring herself to do it.

"Ah, um, sorry." He replied and tried to look away.

"Help me up?"

Loki immediately offered his hand and pulled her up. But when he did, Yui's body came in contact with his. She tried to take a step back to give him space but he grabbed her shoulders and pulled her towards him again. "Damn, you're cute…" Loki smirked as he held her close.

It was in that moment Yui realised Loki wasn't exactly wearing any clothes either, only a pair of black underpants. He was pretty muscular, too, making it very hard for her not to blush. She could clearly feel his muscles against her skin.

Loki then took a step away, grabbed her hand and started pulling her towards the bed. "Let's snuggle."

"Ah, um-!"

* * *

When Yui woke up the next morning Loki was holding her from behind and had his head buried in her hair. Nothing special had happened before they went to bed yesterday, just a few kisses and… perhaps some touching as well but nothing beyond that! She didn't move for several minutes, not wanting to wake him up, but he soon did because the servant who was sent to go get them started knocking on the door, telling them they should get ready because it was almost time to leave. "We're going to get ready right away!" Yui called as she prepared to get out of bed.

"No." Loki said and pulled her back down again.

"Loki, we need to go, we don't have time for this!" When she managed to break free she grabbed the dress hanging on the chair and disappeared inside the bathroom. _"You better be ready once I get out of here!"_ She called through the door.

Loki just sighed and sat up. He would much rather stay in bed, snuggling with the human he fell for without realising it. He slowly got out of the comfortable bed and walked over to where his clothes were and dressed himself. He could hear Yui moving around in the bathroom and grinned to himself, sat down on the chair and waited for her to open the door. This was going to be fun.

A moment later Yui opened the door and closed it behind her. She smiled when she noticed Loki had actually listened to her. "I didn't think you would listen to me."

"I listen when I want to." Loki joked and reached for something in his pocket. "Come over here for a second."

Yui raised an eyebrow, sensing he was up to something, and walked slowly towards him.

Loki stood up from his chair once she was close enough and held out his hand towards her. Yui stopped immediately and stared at his hand in fear.

In his hand was the biggest cockroach she had ever seen! It wasn't real of course, it was something Loki had created with magic, but Yui didn't know that and it looked like it was actually alive since it was moving in his hand. "Look at this little guy." Loki grinned.

Yui took a step back. "T-T-Take it away!"

"Why? You afraid?" Loki asked and started walking towards her.

"Loki! No!"

"Come on, give him a hug." Loki laughed.

"No, no, no, no, no!" Yui screamed and started running.

* * *

Apollon, Balder, Sif, Thor and Tsukito were walking together down the hall, heading for the throne room. "This is going to be fun! I can't wait! Can't wait!" Apollon laughed.

"It's going to be a good experience." Tsukito agreed.

"Hey, do you guys hear something?" Sif asked. When they rounded a corner they saw a servant standing outside a guest room but they couldn't even ask him who was staying in there before the door suddenly flew open and the servant had to jump to the side to avoid it. They watched in surprise and confusion as Yui ran out of the room, screaming, with a laughing Loki close behind.

"Don't, Loki!" Was what they heard Yui scream before the two disappeared down the hall.

They continued to stare for a few seconds before they started running after them, leaving a confused servant behind. "Fairy!" "Loki, what are you doing to Yui-san! ?" "Kusanagi Yui doesn't seem happy." "Loki, stop scaring Yui!" "He will never learn…"

Meanwhile, Yui was running for her life, too scared to realise she just passed Freyr and Freyja. "Huh? Yui-chan?" "What's wrong, Kusanagi?" The siblings asked, right before Loki passed them as well. "What was that in his hand?" Freyr asked. "After them!" His sister exclaimed.

In the throne room Hades, Takeru, Dionysus, Hoenir, Tyr, Vidar and Bragi were waiting for the others to show up. "You think Yui-sama made the right choice?" Hoenir asked, grinning.

"If it's what she wants then yes, she made the right choice." Hades answered.

"You said you only saw them together by a room, how can you be sure?" Takeru asked.

"She invited him to stay with her, believe me, something happened between them yesterday. They both disappeared on the way to the guest rooms, remember?" Hoenir pointed out.

"Yui-san is a good person, I hope Loki will treat her right." Vidar said.

"Loki obviously loves her, he's not going to hurt her." Dionysus told him.

"True, but I don't believe he's going to change, once a prankster, always a prankster." Tyr said with his eyes closed and arms crossed.

"I must agree with Dionysus." Bragi said. "He's going to take good care of her."

" _Don't you dare, Loki!"_

The sound of Yui's voice in the distance made them turn towards the open door and not many seconds passed before Yui ran through the doorway at a very high speed. "What the-? Slow down, Weed!" Takeru called as she got closer. It didn't seem like she heard him and just continued to run towards them. But before she could collide with any of them she made a rapid turn around them and stopped running once she was hidden behind Hades. She was breathing heavily as she was trying to speak. "Just… this once… Can I… use you as… a shield…?"

"Hah?" Takeru uttered.

"Are you in trouble, Kusanagi-san?" Dionysus asked, confused.

"Found out one of her weaknesses!" Loki called proudly from the doorway. He was smirking and still had the big cockroach in his hand.

Freyr and Freyja ran up to him from behind, close followed by Apollon, Sif, Balder, Thor and Tsukito. "Fairy, are you alright?" Apollon called.

"What did you do this time, Loki?" Balder asked right before he stumbled on his feet and fell to the floor.

"What did you do to my little flower! ?" Freyja shouted.

"I haven't done anything… yet." Loki said in defense.

Balder pulled himself up from the floor. "It's obvious you did something, what is that in your hand?"

"Oh, this little guy?" Loki asked innocently. "I just chased her around with him, that's all."

"Loki!" Everyone but Yui shouted.

"Relax, it's not even real." Loki explained and the cockroach went up in smoke a second later.

When Yui saw this she sighed deeply and moved away from Hades. "It wasn't real?"

"You thought it was?" Loki asked, grinning at her.

"I didn't exactly have the time to figure out it wasn't real."

"Because you started running the moment you saw it."

"Of course I ran, almost any human woman would run if they saw a giant cockroach like that!"

"Are human women really that scared of insects?" Freyr asked.

"I'd say most women, yes." Yui answered him.

"I had no idea!" Apollon exclaimed. "Why is that?"

"Honestly, I have no idea…" Yui sighed. "It's just, sometimes the smallest things can be the most scary."

"Aaanyywaay…" Loki smirked and walked up to Yui. "Even if I'm impressed how you were even able to run so fast in a long dress like that, you looked pretty sexy when you did."

Yui just stared at him with wide eyes.

"Too bad it covers your legs, though. What you showed me yesterday was really something."

The room got very quiet as everyone looked at the smirking Loki and a red Yui. "Ha! So something really did happen between you two!" Hoenir suddenly exclaimed.

"Hoenir!" Freyja, Sif, Hades and Balder shouted.

"Show some respect. Kusanagi-san's already embarrassed, the last thing she needs is you shouting out stuff like that." Dionysus pointed out.

"Poor Yui-san, Loki is going to be the end of her…" Tyr sighed.

"Hey!" Loki shouted.

Takeru rubbed his head. "I guess Weed is going to need us to protect her from Loki now more than ever."

"You can count on us, Fairy!" Apollon smiled widely and gave her thumbs up.

Yui looked at her friends in confusion. Did they all understand that things between her and Loki had changed?

It's alright, Yui-chan." Freyja smiled as she placed a hand on her shoulder. "We all knew this day would come."

"We're not going to ask what you and Loki did yesterday but it seems that the two of you are even closer now." Sif added.

"But you better watch out, Loki. One wrong move and we'll steal her away from you." Balder warned his friend teasingly.

"Hell yeah!" Takeru agreed.

"Hold on!" Loki shouted. "We haven't even said we're together yet!"

"You didn't have to." Tsukito told him.

"Whatever it was Yui showed you yesterday, she wouldn't have done it if you hadn't taken your relationship to the next level. You're not the only one who knows what kind of a person she is you know." Sif said proudly.

"Are you saying we're wrong?" Hades asked Loki.

Loki got quiet but soon turned his head and looked Yui straight in the eye. "No."

His answer made Yui smile but it soon disappeared when Hoenir grabbed her arm and pulled her towards him. "That's too bad, I was really looking forward to get to know you better, Yui-sama."

"Hands off!" Freyja, Freyr, Takeru, Balder and Tyr exclaimed.

Hoenir just continued to smirk down at the surprised human, ignoring the others, when Loki suddenly took Yui's hand and pulled her back to him. "Don't touch what's mine, you cockroach. I'll burn you alive."

"Now that's a face you don't see everyday!" Hoenir laughed. "Relax, I'm just fooling around with her."

"The only one who gets to fool around with her is me!" Loki hissed, making Yui blush and the others sigh.

Balder closed his eyes. "You just had to say it, Loki…"

"He'll never stop embarrassing her…" Dionysus added.

"Yeah…" Thor agreed.

"Can we steal her away now?" Takeru asked.

" _You're all here, good."_

Everyone turned to where the voice was coming from and saw Odin coming through the doorway, followed by Zeus.

"We heard from a servant Loki was causing trouble for you, Kusanagi." Zeus informed.

"Again." Odin added.

"Ah, well, don't worry about it." Yui sweat dropped.

"No surprise you would say that. Are you all ready to leave?" Zeus asked.

"Of course." Bragi answered.

"Then let's not waste time."

* * *

When everyone opened their eyes the first thing they saw was the house Yui stayed in when she first came here. The only difference was that there were many more houses surrounding it now. Yui smiled in excitement and started walking towards them. "Aahh, it feels great to be back!"

"Ah! Wait for us, Yui-san!" Balder called as he and the others ran after her towards the houses. They had all changed into human forms because they believed it would be more fun that way. If they had stayed in their god forms everything would be too easy to do and they actually wanted a challenge for once.

"Can you blame her for being excited? She gets to see all the things she came up with." Dionysus pointed out.

"Yuuuuiiii~" Loki smiled as he ran past the others. "Let's go parasailing first!"

"You remembered that, Loki?" Yui asked.

"Oh, I remember as well!" Dionysus exclaimed. "I want to drive the boat!"

"I want to drive as well." Tsukito added.

"Not a good idea." Hades and Takeru said in unison.

They all hurried to the beach where they found a net in the sand where they could play volleyball, surfboards and a boat. "Thor, I want to try parasailing! Do it with me!" Sif begged.

"Alright." He answered her without hesitation.

"Yes! Come on Tsukito-san, let's drive the boat together!" Dionysus said in excitement and dragged Tsukito towards the boat.

"On second thought…" Thor said but it was too late to escape because Sif grabbed his arm before he could and followed the other two to the water.

It didn't take long before Sif and Thor were high in the air and Tsukito and Dionysus were driving the boat veeeery fast and carelessly. Thor looked kind of pale, you could even see it from the ground. Sif looked like she was having fun, though. "Hahaha, faster guys!" She laughed. Back on the ground the others were watching their friends fool around, torturing the poor thunder god. _"Faster it is then!"_ They could hear Dionysus respond. _"Speed up, Tsukito-san!"_

Tsukito did as he was told. _"Speeding up."_

"Poor, Thor-san." Yui giggled.

"Haha, I want to try one of these!" Apollon laughed as he grabbed one of the surfboards.

"Do you know how to use it?" Takeru asked.

"No." Apollon answered honestly. "But I'm going to learn!"

"But you're not dressed for the ocean." Hades pointed out.

"None of us are." Balder added.

Oh, I forgot to tell you." Bragi said and showed them a brown bag he was holding in his hand. "Odin gave me this before we left. He told me to use these while we're on the beach." He put the bag in the sand and opened it. Inside they found swimming trunks and bikinis.

"Awesome!" Loki laughed and grabbed a purple pair.

"I love this color!" Freyja smiled, holding a light pink bikini in her hands.

Yui found a light blue one she liked and picked it up from the bag. Not long after, Loki grabbed her hand and started pulling her away from the others. "Let's go change, Kitten!"

"Hah? ! Together! ?" She exclaimed.

"Of course, it's not like I haven't seen you before!"

"H-Hey, what do you think you're doing, Loki! ?" Takeru shouted after them.

"I can accept your relationship with her but this I can not!" Freyja added and ran after them.

"Time to protect Yui-san's body!" Balder shouted as he too started running.

"Alright then!" Freyr agreed and followed after Balder.

"Looks like we're getting an audience!" Loki laughed.

"W-What! ? No! Please don't come over here!" Yui cried out.

"Poor Yui-san…" Vidar sighed.

"How is she going to survive those guys?" Tyr asked quietly.

"She's a strong one, she'll be alright." Bragi told the two younger gods and picked up a dark blue pair. "I wonder if these will fit me."

"She's our Fairy after all. The best!" Apollon smiled widely. He had somehow already changed and was on his way to the ocean with the surfboard. "Join me when you're ready!"

"He's a fast one." Tyr pointed out.

" _Freyja-san, help me!"_ They could hear Yui exclaim further away.

" _Don't worry, Yui-chan! I'll keep these perverts away!"_

" _You are the pervert here, sis!"_ Freyr shouted.

"Poor girl…" Tyr, Vidar and Bragi said in unison.

Finally, when everyone had managed to change, even if it took longer than it should have, they split up to try the three different activities. Dionysus and Tsukito stayed on the boat while Takeru and Freyr took Thor and Sif's places. Thor and Sif then went to play volleyball with Hades, Bragi, Freyja and Hoenir. Loki, Yui, Tyr, Vidar and Balder took the surfboards and joined Apollon in the water. "Sooo, does anyone know how to surf?" Tyr asked. They were all sitting on the surfboards, floating in a circle.

They looked at each other before they turned to look at Yui, hoping she could explain. "Um, I guess we should wait for a big wave and then try to catch it."

"Catch it?" They asked in unison.

"Have you done this before, Fairy?" Apollon asked.

"A few times, I'm not that good, though." Yui answered. Then, in the corner of her eye she spotted a pretty big wave heading for them. "Ah, here it comes! I'll try to catch it!" She informed and laid down on the surfboard and used her arms to paddle towards it.

The others watched as she swam away from them. "Hey, Loki, where do you think you're looking?" Balder warned his friend. Loki was obviously staring at Yui's butt.

When Yui was close enough she turned around and felt the wave lift her higher. She then stood up and tried to balance on the surfboard. It actually went pretty well, she managed to catch the wave, didn't fall and let it take her further and further away before she successfully turned around and surfed back to the others before the wave disappeared. It didn't take her all the way back to them so she had to paddle the rest of the way. "That was so cool, Yui-san!" Balder praised.

"You were really good!" Apollon agreed.

"Thanks, I didn't think I would make it without falling." Yui smiled, satisfied she was able to show them how to surf.

"I want to try, I wanna try it next!" Apollon laughed and used the same technique Yui had to paddle.

"You think you can do it?" Tyr called after him.

"I'm going to do my best!"

A moment later, everyone looked a little pale as they watched Apollon try to catch a wave. He just kept falling off the surfboard. "Can we help him in any way?" Vidar asked, feeling bad for the sun god.

"Let him be." Loki laughed. "It's more fun watching him fail."

"Loki…" Yui and Balder sighed.

 **A/N: Alright everyone, it's time to start the countdown! Only about 5 chapters left!**

 **Chapter 28 will be out in 4-5 days!**


	28. Chapter 28

**Previously:**

When Yui was close enough she turned around and felt the wave lift her higher. She then stood up and tried to balance on the surfboard. It actually went pretty well, she managed to catch the wave, didn't fall and let it take her further and further away before she successfully turned around and surfed back to the others before the wave disappeared. It didn't take her all the way back to them so she had to paddle the rest of the way. "That was so cool, Yui-san!" Balder praised.

"You were really good!" Apollon agreed.

"Thanks, I didn't think I would make it without falling." Yui smiled, satisfied she was able to show them how to surf.

"I want to try, I wanna try it next!" Apollon laughed and used the same technique Yui had to paddle.

"You think you can do it?" Tyr called after him.

"I'm going to do my best!"

A moment later, everyone looked a little pale as they watched Apollon try to catch a wave. He just kept falling off the surfboard. "Can we help him in any way?" Vidar asked, feeling bad for the sun god.

"Let him be." Loki laughed. "It's more fun watching him fail."

"Loki…" Yui and Balder sighed.

 **Now:**

"I will definitely make it this time!" Apollon shouted in determination, only to fall off again right after.

"Hahaha!" Loki laughed, enjoying the show Apollon gave them.

Back on the shore the others had stopped what they were doing and was currently watching Apollon fail as well, over and over again. They weren't parasailing anymore but Dionysus and Tsukito were still on the boat. "I think we should help create waves for him." Dionysus grinned.

"Alright." Tsukito said and moved out of the way so Dionysus could drive.

"What are they up to?" Hades asked when they saw the boat moving towards their friends in the water.

The boat passed Yui and the others, earning confused and worried looks from them, and headed straight for Apollon. "Enjoy the waves, brother!" Dionysus laughed as he drove close to the blonde god and made big waves for him. "Hey, Dee-Dee, that's mean!" Apollon cried out. The waves didn't only cause trouble for Apollon but for the others in the water as well, even if they were further away the big waves soon turned into many small waves and headed towards them fast. It caused the surfboards to start rocking pretty violently and they had a hard time trying not to lose their balance. "Alright, this is not okay anymore!" Loki shouted. One slightly bigger wave hit the side of Yui's surfboard, causing her to bump into Loki. She would have fallen off if he hadn't caught her and pulled her onto his board instead. Loki then used his right arm to hold her from behind so that she wouldn't fall off again. "Thank you, Loki." She smiled, grateful he hadn't just let her fall and laughed at her.

"H-Hey, stop the boat! I'm gonna-!" Balder cried out before he fell off and both Tyr and Vidar had to help him get back on. Which was easier said than done…

"Let's retreat for now." Loki told Yui with a grin.

"Yes." Yui said, she couldn't agree more, and helped Loki paddle back towards the shore. Once Balder was back on his board he and the others followed them, leaving Apollon to deal with the waves alone.

"Don't leave me behind!" Apollon cried out.

Deciding it was enough, Dionysus stopped the boat right beside Apollon and offered his hand to pull him up. "That wasn't nice, Dee-Dee, I almost made it!"

"Maybe if you had continued for weeks!" Dionysus laughed. "Take us back in, Tsukito-san!"

"Very well."

The boat made it back to the shore right before the others on the surfboards did and jumped down from it to join Hades and the rest. "Dionysus…" Hades sighed. "You have been drinking, right?"

"Hehe, yeah, I have." Dionysus admitted and smiled awkwardly as he rubbed his head.

"Brother, that was dangerous, you know…" Takeru told Tsukito.

"I thought it was a good experience."

"Of course you did."

A little further away Loki and the rest placed the surfboards in the sand before they joined their friends. "Well, that was fun." Loki stated.

"I thought I was going to drown…" Balder sighed deeply.

Yui placed a hand on Balder's shoulder to comfort him. "It's alright, we don't have to go back into the water."

"That was very interesting to watch, though." Sif pointed out.

"Where should we go next, then?" Hoenir asked.

* * *

When they had dressed themselves they had decided to split up so they could explore as much of the island as possible, it also gave them the opportunity to do what they wanted to do without having to wait for the others to do an activity they weren't interested in. Dionysus had immediately dragged both Hades and Tsukito towards the spa house he had been looking forward to visit, Hoenir, Takeru, Apollon and Freyr had gone to look for the firework shop, Sif, Thor, Freyja and Bragi wanted to check out the academy, Balder, Vidar and Tyr wanted to try mountain biking and Yui and Loki had decided to stay on the beach to try kiteboarding, meaning they didn't have to put their clothes back on.

"This is awesome!" Loki laughed as he surfed along the surface with the help of the wind and the power kite. He was going very fast but still managed to hold on and do all sorts of tricks with ease. Yui on the other hand was taking it easier, she was not the type to do things the extreme way like Loki but she still went fast enough to do a few tricks of her own. She was having a lot of fun when Loki came up from behind her. "Take my hand, Yui!" He called.

Even if she wondered how she was supposed to steer with one hand she still took his hand and let him guide her. Together they used a wave to fly high up in the air before landing on the surface again and continued to glide around, hand in hand. They were both laughing, really enjoying the speed the wind provided them. "Let go of it!" Loki laughed.

"What! ?"

"Trust me!"

"... A-alright!" Yui closed her eyes and let go completely, feeling how Loki pulled her towards him and when she opened her eyes again she had her right arm around his neck while her left hand rested against his chest. Loki was holding her with one arm and steered with the other like it was the easiest thing to do. "Aahh~!" Yui exclaimed happily, clearly impressed. She took this chance to look at Loki's face. What she liked the most when he was in his human form was his eyes, they were light blue instead of golden and they fit him perfectly.

"Something on my face?" Loki grinned. She hadn't noticed he was actually looking back at her.

"N-No, not at all." Yui smiled and looked away. "I just… like your eyes."

Loki let out a small laugh before he suddenly turned around and headed back towards the shore.

Once they were back in the sand Loki put her down. "Should we go try something else?"

"Alright, where do you want to go?"

Loki smiled in excitement. "The go-karts. I want to race you!"

"Haha, alright. Let's go." Yui giggled and turned around to go find her dress but was stopped when Loki grabbed her arm and pulled her back to him. Before she could ask him what was wrong he had covered her lips with his own, she was surprised at first but it didn't take long before she had closed her eyes and was leaning against him, closing the little gap between them. When they finally parted they stared into each other's eyes for many seconds before they kissed again, longer this time.

Some time later they were both dressed and were heading towards the race track, following the road they were sure would lead them to it. "Loki, what are you doing?" Yui asked in almost a giggle. Loki was walking backwards in front of her. "You said you liked my eyes, right?" Loki grinned at her. "This way you can look at them as much as you want."

Yui couldn't help but laugh at that. "You're so silly."

"True, but you still love me."

"Of course." She admitted. "It wasn't just your looks I fell for, you know."

"Is that so?" He smirked and stopped walking, almost causing her to walk into him. "What is it you like about me, Yui?"

Yui blinked at him and thought about what to say but decided to tease him instead. She smiled at him innocently and walked past him. "Not telling."

"Hah?" Was all Loki got out as he followed her movements.

"Try figuring it out on your own." Yui said as she turned her head and winked at him.

Loki blinked two times. Was she teasing him? "H-Hey, Kitten! Don't just leave after saying something like that!" He called as he ran to catch up with her.

Yui could hear he was running towards her and started running as well, laughing as she did. Loki was always teasing her about something, now it was her turn. And now she knew why he did it, this was actually really fun. "I'll tell you if you can catch me!"

"Ooh?" Loki snickered. "Things just got interesting!"

Yui knew he would catch her soon, he was faster than her after all but it was still fun to make him work for her answer. She could get used to this.

"I've got you now!" Loki laughed as he jumped high in the air and landed right behind her, grabbed her by the waist and spun her around.

Yui just continued to laugh and tried to get away from him.

"Continue to struggle and I'm going to do something to make you stop."

"Like what?" Yui giggled.

"This." Loki said and buried his face in her neck and started sucking on it.

Yui immediately stopped moving and her eyes widened. ' _Oh dear…!_ ' She thought, feeling her face heat up. She should have seen this coming!

Loki's left hand traveled down to her butt. "Are you going to tell me?" He whispered from her neck.

Yui let out a gasp. ' _T-Two can play this game!_ ' She thought and let her right hand move up Loki's stomach underneath his sweater and continued towards his chest, earning heavy breaths from him.

But then they both realised at the same time what they were doing and stopped moving, they didn't move away from each other, though. Their friends were scattered around the island, they could pretty much show up at any time. Loki didn't really care about that but he knew Yui did and the last thing he wanted was to make her angry and risk not being allowed to touch her again. He just had to ignore his "instincts" and be patient, which was reeaaally hard for him to do!

As he felt Yui's hand leave his chest he let go of her as well and took a step back. "Well, that was… nice."

Yui was looking down at the ground with a small smile on her face. "Yeah… I like everything about you."

Loki raised an eyebrow at her. "What?"

"You caught me so I have to tell you, right? I said I like everything about you. Your eyes, your hair, your teasing, your jokes… even your pranks. I love it all, okay?"

Loki looked surprised for a moment but he soon started smiling, grabbed her shoulders and pulled her towards him and gave her a short kiss. "I love everything about you as well, you know."

"Heh, how cute." A familiar voice said from behind Loki.

It was Hoenir.

Loki sighed and turned around, that stupid god just _**had**_ to ruin the moment. _**Again**_. "What do you want? Weren't you going to get fireworks?"

"I was but then I thought about heading to that spa house instead." Hoenir explained. "And look what I found on my way there." He grinned. "Two lovers enjoying each other when they think no one can see."

Loki narrowed his eyes at him but Hoenir just continued. "I've heard human women are pretty good in bed, please let me know when you hav-" He didn't get to finish because Loki had thrown a ball of fire at him. He managed to dodge it, though. "Hehe, calm down Loki, you know I didn't mean it."

"One more word from that disgusting mouth of yours and I will make this murder look like an accident!" Loki hissed at him.

"Now, now, you shouldn't speak like that in front of a lady."

"You have no room to talk!"

"Please calm down you two." Yui begged. "Loki, let's go find the go-karts, okay?"

"Go-karts?" Hoenir uttered.

"Yes, we're going to have a race." Yui explained.

"So you can get lost now!" Loki shouted.

"Having a race sounds fun, I think I'll join you."

"No, you're not!"

"Come on, Loki, race with me. If you win I'll apologize, promise."

It got quiet and Yui looked back and forth between the two gods, waiting for Loki to respond.

"Fine." Loki finally said.

* * *

"This is…" Yui said to herself as she sweat dropped. The go-kart track was long and had many sharp turns, making Yui afraid they would crash at any moment since they were going absolutely crazy out there. She had forgotten how many laps they had done by now, she had stopped counting at 15, but knew it had to be over soon because they had agreed on doing 50 laps. And they must have finished at least 30 laps since she stopped counting, she figured. Right now she was leaning against the fence that separated her from the track, resting her arms on top of it as she watched the two gods race. They were going very fast and none of them wore a helmet… She had to look away for a moment, watching them made her dizzy, and focused on the remaining go-karts by the side of the track. ' _These are very powerful karts, I'm kinda glad I was spared._ ' She thought.

" _Eat dust!"_ She could hear Loki laugh. And sure thing, clouds of dust were flying all over the place. Yui had already figured out Loki had pulled some kind of trick to make it more dusty than usual as they made those sharp turns.

" _We have to tell everyone!_ "

" _Hey, Apollon, wait for us!"_

Those voices definitely belonged to Apollon and Takeru and as Yui turned her head she saw them and Freyr coming over a hill just a little further away. When the three noticed her by the fence Apollon exclaimed, _"Ah, Fairy! Hello!"_

"Hello!" Yui called back and watched them heading her way.

"We thought you were with Loki by the beach." Freyr pointed out as they got closer.

"We were but Loki wanted to race, so we came here." Yui explained. "And on our way here we ran into Hoenir-san."

"Alright." Takeru said and leaned against the fence as well.

" _I can hardly see anything!"_ Hoenir cried out _._

" _Open your eyes then!"_ Loki laughed.

"They sure are driving like crazy…" Takeru continued.

"Yeah, Hoenir-san said something that made Loki mad, if Loki wins, Hoenir-san will apologize."

The three gods looked at her. "So what did he say?" Apollon asked.

"Well, uh…"

"Something embarrassing?" Freyr asked.

"Umm, something about human women… being good in bed…" Yui said while looking straight at the go-kart track.

 _ **Silence ~**_

"What! ?" The three exclaimed in unison.

"Why that little-!" Takeru hissed.

"And…" Yui continued. "to tell him about it later…"

"WHAT! ?" They exclaimed again.

"I'll kill him!" Takeru screamed and tried to climb over the fence but Freyr was holding him back. "Takeru, please! He insulted her, I get it, but let Loki handle him, alright! ?"

"Takeru-san…" Yui whispered with slightly wide eyes.

"Loki-Loki is defending your honor as a human, Fairy." Apollon smiled at her. "He's definitely not going to let him win."

Yui was quiet for a moment before she let out a short giggle. "Yes, I know."

"Hey, Loki!" Takeru shouted. "Crush him!"

A few laps later Loki suddenly shouted, _"One lap left! You're going down!"_

They were driving side by side and the finish line was not far away. It was so exciting Yui and the other three were leaning over the fence, watching as Loki and Hoenir got closer and closer.

" _Looks like I won't be apologizing!"_ Hoenir smirked.

Loki didn't say anything back, instead he just threw him a big grin, distracting Hoenir for a moment. But by the time Hoenir had figured out what Loki was trying to do it was too late and he missed the last turn, crashing into the fence beside the track. Takeru and Freyr started laughing and Apollon and Yui cheered when Loki passed the finish line.

A satisfied Loki jumped out of the go-kart and walked up to Hoenir who was trying to climb out of the now broken vehicle. "Well then, are you going to keep your promise?"

Hoenir sighed and brushed off some dust from his clothes. "A promise is a promise. I apologize."

"Not to me." Loki said before he turned towards Yui by the fence. "Her."

Hoenir looked over at Yui and cleared his throat before he started walking towards her, rubbing his head as he did. Once he was standing in front of her he looked her in the eye and said, "I apologize for talking about human women like that, Yui-sama. Forgive me."

Yui stared at him for a few seconds before she smiled. "Apology accepted."

Hoenir then placed his hands on the fence that separated them and leaned towards her. "It really is a shame you're taken, though."

More he didn't get to say because Loki had grabbed his neck and pulled him away from her and Apollon had pulled Yui back by the shoulders.

Yui giggled at the whole situation when she saw something in the corner of her eye that caught her attention. "Those bags, what's in them?" She asked. Leaning against the fence on the ground were three bags Takeru, Apollon and Freyr had brought with them.

"Ah, that's what we were going to tell everyone about!" Apollon smiled widely.

"We brought some fireworks with us from the shop. We thought we could lit them by the new academy later tonight, just like we did the first time." Takeru explained.

"Loki's eyes sparkled. "Count me in!"

"That brings back good memories." Yui added.

"I've never seen fireworks before but Apollon said they were fun so I'm looking forward to it." Freyr said.

"Believe me, it's going to be awesome!" Loki exclaimed and jumped over the fence to have a look in the bags.

"We have a few more hours before it gets dark, what are we going to do next?" Yui asked.

* * *

"Stand like this," Yui explained. "and hit the ball like this." She was trying to teach them how to play golf.

The guys followed the small white ball as it flew high in the air and landed in the very short grass. "Then what?" Freyr asked.

Yui pointed at something in the distance. "See the flag over there? There's a small hole underneath it, that's what you're aiming for when you hit the ball."

"You didn't hit it, though." Loki smirked.

"Well, I've never played before. I've only seen other people do it."

"Let me try!" Takeru said and grabbed a club and a ball.

" _Hello everyone!"_ A familiar voice greeted and everyone turned around to see who it was.

"Balder!" Loki called back.

Balder, Vidar, Tyr and Hades were walking towards them.

"Did you have fun mountain biking?" Yui asked.

"It was very fun." Tyr said, trying not to laugh at the memories.

That's when they noticed Balder's clothes were dirty.

"You fell didn't you?" Loki asked.

"Hehe, yeah, I did." Balder admitted.

"It was very amusing to watch." Vidar spoke.

Yui's eyes turned to Hades. "Hades-san, where are Dionysus-san and Tsukito-san?" She remembered he had went with them to the spa house.

"Dionysus was drinking wine in the jacuzzi and Tsukito was acting as his servant, so I escaped." Hades explained.

"What are you doing here?" Tyr asked.

"Golfing." Takeru told him and got into position. "We're aiming for the hole by the flag over there." He swung the club high before hitting the ball. It flew higher than Yui's but landed only a few yards further away. "Hm, harder than I thought."

"My turn!" Loki said and put the ball down right where he stood. When Loki was ready to swing Yui noticed Hoenir was standing a little too close but before she could tell him to move, Loki swung the club, hitting Hoenir in the head with such a force he fell backwards.

"Ouch…!" Everyone said in unison, they could tell he hit him very hard by the sound it made.

"Ha! My ball almost got in-" Loki said as he turned around. "-What are you doing on the ground?" He asked when he noticed Hoenir in the grass.

"You hit him in the head with the club." Balder sweat dropped.

"Are you alright, Hoenir?" Tyr asked.

"Never been better…" Hoenir replied as he sat up, rubbing his forehead.

"That looked funny." Freyr snickered, holding a hand over his mouth to stop himself from laughing.

"Sorry, Hoenir-san, I didn't have time to warn you." Yui apologized.

"It's alright, Yui-sama, but I believe it's my turn now." Hoenir smiled and stood back up.

"You sure?" Takeru asked.

"You were hit pretty hard." Hades added.

"I'm fine, I'm fine." Hoenir insisted.

' _I hope he's not just saying that._ ' Yui thought. ' _Anyway, now that I think about it, I did write on the map that golf carts can be useful on a golf course. Did they perhaps forge-?_ ' Then she noticed a building a little further away that looked like a garage. ' _Oh, could that be-?_ ' She started walking towards it without anyone noticing, they were too busy trying to make Hoenir take it easy, telling him he should sit down a little longer. Yui's friends had human bodies during their time at the academy and knew from experience that the human body was more sensitive than their original forms. Hoenir obviously didn't know when the limit had been reached, he had never taken the form of a human before and didn't understand why they were trying to stop him from moving around.

Meanwhile, Yui had opened the white garage door and had found about 10 golf carts inside. Smiling to herself she sat down behind the wheel in one of them and started it. "I've always wanted to drive one of these."

Back with the others, everyone had tried hitting the hole by the flag but no one had succeeded yet. Takeru was about to ask what they would do now when he noticed Apollon was looking around for something. "What's wrong, Apollon?"

"Hey, where did Fairy go?"

That caught the others' attention and they too began to look around for her. "Where could she possibly have-?" Loki asked when he suddenly saw her coming their way in a pretty small, white vehicle.

"Found the golf carts!" She called, smiling widely.

"What the-?" Tyr uttered. "Where did you find that thing?"

"In the garage over there!" She answered and made a turn before she could reach them. She then drove down the not very steep hill they were standing on, leaving her friends behind. "See you by the flag!" She laughed playfully.

"H-Hey, Weed!" Takeru called after her.

"Yui-san, is that thing safe? !" Balder cried out.

"Haha, take me with you, Fairy!" Apollon laughed.

"Like I'd let you get away that easily!" Loki called and ran after her with the others close behind.

When Yui noticed they were chasing her she continued past the flag instead of stopping and drove towards another flag. She was feeling a little playful today, probably Loki's fault, and drove even faster. She knew golf carts weren't supposed to go this fast but since these ones were made by gods who didn't care about speed limits she figured this was normal.

Not very far away Dionysus and Tsukito had met up with Bragi, Freyja, Thor and Sif and were standing just beside the golf course. "I wonder where the others went." Bragi spoke.

"Perhaps they all went back to the beach?" Sif suggested.

"Wasn't Hades-san with you before?" Freyja asked Dionysus and Tsukito.

"He was, but he left the spa house before we did." Dionysus explained. "That was a really relaxing place, though." He added and sighed in satisfaction.

"Should we start looking by the firework shop?" Tsukito asked.

"That won't be necessary." Thor said, looking at something in the distance.

"Why not?" Sif asked and followed his gaze. "Oh!" She exclaimed when she saw what he was looking at.

"It seems Kusanagi is heading this way." Thor continued.

 **A/N: There you go! Next chapter will be out in about 5 days!**


	29. Chapter 29

**Previously:**

When Yui noticed they were chasing her she continued past the flag instead of stopping and drove towards another flag. She was feeling a little playful today, probably Loki's fault, and drove even faster. She knew golf carts weren't supposed to go this fast but since these ones were made by gods who didn't care about speed limits she figured this was normal.

Not very far away Dionysus and Tsukito had met up with Bragi, Freyja, Thor and Sif and were standing just beside the golf course. "I wonder where the others went." Bragi spoke.

"Perhaps they all went back to the beach?" Sif suggested.

"Wasn't Hades-san with you before?" Freyja asked Dionysus and Tsukito.

"He was, but he left the spa house before we did." Dionysus explained. "That was a really relaxing place, though." He added and sighed in satisfaction.

"Should we start looking by the firework shop?" Tsukito asked.

"That won't be necessary." Thor said, looking at something in the distance.

"Why not?" Sif asked and followed his gaze. "Oh!" She exclaimed when she saw what he was looking at.

"It seems Kusanagi is heading this way." Thor continued.

 **Now:**

Dionysus, Sif and Freyja started laughing when they noticed all the other gods were chasing Yui who was driving a golf cart. It was a really funny sight to behold, the gods couldn't exactly catch up with her while they were in human forms.

As Yui got closer to her laughing friends she smiled and waved at them. "Hello everyone!"

They instantly waved back.

"Having fun, Yui! ?" Sif laughed.

"Trying to escape the guys? !" Freyja added.

Yui stopped the golf cart beside them and looked behind her to see how far behind the guys were. "We're playing golf." Yui giggled.

"I can see that." Bragi chuckled.

"When I found this golf cart I told them I'd meet them by the flag but then they started chasing me so I just continued to drive." Yui explained, smiling innocently at them.

"Oh, here they come." Sif spoke, seeing the others were getting closer.

" _Playtime's over, Weed!" "I'm going to get you now!"_ They heard Takeru and Loki shout playfully.

"I better go!" Yui giggled and was just about to drive away when Dionysus stopped her. "Let me come, too!" He exclaimed as he ran around the vehicle to take the passenger seat beside her.

"Of course, jump in!"

"Hahaha, drive, drive, drive!" He laughed as he sat down.

Seconds later the two of them had already gotten pretty far away and the remaining gods started grinning when the others finally got there. "Not again…" Balder panted and lost his balance a moment later.

"I didn't know she could be this playful." Tyr pointed out.

"Yeah, she's always so calm and collected." Vidar agreed.

"I'm not surprised." Loki grinned. "She actually has a playful side, you know."

Balder, who was still lying on the ground, raised his head and smiled up at Loki. "That reminds me, things didn't go as planned, did it Loki?"

Loki stopped grinning and looked down at Balder. "Hah?"

"The plan was to make us jealous, right? But in the end, you ended up falling for her as well."

Loki blinked at him but then threw a look at the others when he felt them staring at him and was surprised to see they were all smiling. "Those smiles are creeping me out…"

His comment made them all laugh.

Loki soon started grinning as well and turned around. "Are you going to help me stop our speeder?"

"Hell yeah!" Takeru smirked.

"Let's catch Fairy!" Apollon laughed.

" _You'll have to try harder than that!"_ They heard Dionysus call right before the golf cart passed them, heading back the same way they came from.

"After them!" Freyja snickered and started running.

"We won't let you get away!" Sif called.

"Haha, look! They're all running!" Dionysus grinned from his spot beside Yui.

"I won't let them catch us!" Yui giggled.

"Hey, can I drive?"

"Sure!"

Their friends who were chasing them noticed the golf cart was slowing down but still didn't stop and wondered what was going on when they saw that both Yui and Dionysus were standing up and, as gracefully as possible, tried to switch places with each other. "That's not a very good idea…" Hades stated.

"Alright, Kusanagi-san, let me take you for a ride!" Dionysus told Yui before he sped up.

"You know how to drive?"

"I actually listened during class." He winked at her. "Sometimes."

"Of course you did." Yui sweat dropped. "I was a little surprised you knew how to drive the boat as well."

"Haha, yeah, that was really fun! And easier than I thought."

"You were driving a little carelessly, though."

"Like you did a moment ago?" He smirked at her.

"Um." Yui said and looked straight ahead instead, feeling embarrassed. "I got caught up in the moment. I've always wanted to drive a golf cart."

"And now you have. Now, let's make them run till they drop!"

"D-Dionysus-san?"

"Here we go!"

Yui didn't even have time to breath before Dionysus had pushed the golf cart to the limit. He was driving just as carelessly as he did the boat and Yui had to hold on to her seat so she wouldn't fall off. This didn't stop her from having fun, though, it was almost like driving with Loki. ' _Loki!_ ' She exclaimed inside her head. ' _Oh dear, he's definitely going to make me pay for this. Leaving him behind and having fun without him… Haha, he's going to throw me in a lake or something._ ' When Yui stopped thinking and focused on what was going on in front of her, her face became dark. ' _Speaking of lakes…!_ ' There really _**was**_ a lake just a little further away, and Dionysus was driving straight towards it! Or no, not so straight, he was actually zig-zagging towards the lake, taking very sharp turns as he went. "D-D-Dionysus-san! Lake!"

"Huh? What was that, Kusanagi-san?" Dionysus asked in a loud voice as he turned his head towards her. He was having too much fun to notice the lake that only got closer and closer with every passing second.

"Don't look at me, look where you're driving!" Yui cried out and pointed at the water in front of them. "The lake! We're going to-!"

By the time Dionysus noticed the lake it was too late and the golf cart went over a small edge before it hit the water, sending both Yui and Dionysus flying.

The lake wasn't deep but they were still soaking wet from head to toe. When Yui had managed to pull herself up she had water up to her waist and a moment later Dionysus was standing beside her, laughing. "Hehe, you alright?"

Yui let out a small laugh as well. "Yeah, I'm fine. Only wet."

" _Fairy!" "Yui-san!"_ They could hear Apollon and Balder call and turned their heads just in time to see their friends stop where the golf cart had hit the water. _"Are you both alright? !"_ Takeru exclaimed.

"We're fine, we're fine!" Dionysus called back as he and Yui started moving towards them.

"Damn, that thing really sent you flying." Tyr pointed out.

"That was so fun! I didn't plan to crash, though." Dionysus chuckled.

"Dionysus, you are as careless as ever." Hades told him.

"Hehe, I won't argue with that." Dionysus grinned, placing his hands on his hips. He and Yui were still in the water, they were already wet, so no reason to rush.

"It's my own fault for letting you drive." Yui giggled. "By the way, we should get out of here, it's getting a little col-" She stopped talking when she noticed they were all staring at her. "W-What?" With a confused look on her face she turned to Loki, only to see he was smirking at her. But what confused her more was that he was looking at her body instead of her face and noticed that everyone else was doing the same. Why were they looking at her body? She was wearing a dress after al-! When she looked down, her eyes widened. The pink dress Sif had given her was now pretty much transparent and her whole face turned red from embarrassment as she tried to cover herself with her arms. "U-Um, can you all turn around, please?"

Apollon immediately did what she had asked them to do. "S-Sorry, Fairy!"

"Do I have to turn around as well?" Freyja asked but before Yui could say something Freyr had grabbed her arm, forcing her to turn around. "Just do what you were told, sis."

"Forgive us, Kusanagi." Hades apologized as he and the rest turned away from her, even Dionysus who was standing beside her took a few steps to the side. "I didn't see anything, Kusanagi-san, promise."

It was quiet for a moment and they began to wonder what was going on when Yui spoke again. "Loki, you're still staring…"

All heads turned to him and Takeru was quick to grab him. "Damn it, Loki, look the other way!"

Sif started laughing. "Come here, Yui, I'll shield you."

* * *

The gods were waiting for Sif and Yui to return on a hill. Sif had teleported herself and Yui back to Yui's cottage so she could change into her dry, white dress. Dionysus on the other hand didn't care much about his wet clothes, they would dry soon enough. But they got bored as they waited and Loki came up with the brilliant idea to dry Dionysus's clothes with his fire. Apollon had wanted to join as well and Dionysus didn't seem to mind.

Balder and Takeru looked at each other with dark faces, they knew very well what had happened the last time Loki and Apollon combined their powers and immediately backed away. Hades noticed this and raised an eyebrow at them. "Where are you two going?"

"Away." Balder laughed nervously.

"And fast!" Takeru added and ran past Balder.

"Why?" Freyr asked.

"... I think I know why." Thor said and slowly backed away as well.

"Alright, here we go!" Loki laughed.

"Ready, Dee-Dee?" Apollon asked, excited.

"Shit!" Takeru exclaimed and threw himself on the ground, taking Balder down with him.

It was as if someone had dropped a bomb. A loud bang echoed through the island, followed by smoke and sparks that flew up towards the sky and then an orange light surrounded them before it disappeared after only a few seconds. When everyone opened their eyes again the first thing they saw was a very dusty Dionysus, his whole body, including his clothes, were now dark grey and he blinked a few times in surprise.

Only Loki, Apollon and Dionysus were standing, the rest had either been pushed down to the ground or were sent flying a few yards away by the great force. Takeru and Balder, who had been spared, stood up and looked around. Thor, Freyja, Tyr and Hades were lying on the ground and Hoenir, Vidar, Bragi, Freyr and Tsukito had been blown away and were now lying on the bottom of the hill.

Loki, who hadn't noticed the others had, kind of, been hit as well was laughing at the grey Dionysus while Apollon was looking around in confusion. "What? What? Why are you all on the ground?"

His question caught Loki's attention and he too turned around to see what had happened. "Oooh!" He exclaimed. "It's a strike, Apollon! They have all been knocked down!"

"Damn you!" Hoenir shouted as he walked up the hill. "You did that on purpose, didn't you?"

"No, no, no, we didn't!" Apollon cried out in defense and Loki started laughing again.

Soon, when everyone was standing and back on the hill, they turned their attention to Dionysus who still wasn't moving a muscle. "Are you alright?" Hades asked.

"You look a little… grey." Takeru pointed out.

"And stiff." Vidar added.

Dionysus coughed once and smoke flew out of his mouth. "I should have… seen that coming…"

In the next moment both Sif and Yui appeared right beside Dionysus. "We're back!" Yui smiled. "Sorry it took so- ...What happened to you? !" She exclaimed when she saw the condition Dionysus was in.

Dionysus turned to her with tired-looking eyes. "Kusanagi-san, your boyfriend and my brother are out of control…"

Yui blinked at him and turned to the others. "What happened?"

"Agana Belea and Loki were trying to dry Thyrsos's clothes." Balder explained.

"Not a very good idea I see." Sif snickered, holding a hand over her mouth.

"I didn't think it would blow him up!" Apollon cried out. "Loki-Loki and I were only trying to help so Dee-Dee wouldn't have to walk around in wet clothes!"

Yui let out a small sigh. "Loki, Apollon-san, what did you think would happen? Remember last time when you combined your powers to make fireworks?"

"Oh, right, that time." Loki grinned at the memory and rubbed his head. Apollon on the other hand seemed to be in deep thought. "Hmm, now that you mention it… That was a pretty big bang we created back then."

"You think! ?" Both Takeru and Balder yelled.

"Ah, but anyway, you have real fireworks this time, right?" Yui asked. "So please use them instead."

"We sure have! And it's going to be awesome!" Apollon said in excitement.

"They are in the bags over there." Tsukito informed, referring to the bags in the grass behind them.

"Aanyywaaay~" Loki grinned and walked up to Yui. "Don't think I've forgotten about your little adventure earlier."

"..." Yui blinked at him. "Ah, um…"

"That's right." Takeru said, he was grinning as well. "You made us run a long way, Weed."

Yui's cheeks turned red from embarrassment. "I, um, I'm sorry?" But she wasn't able to keep a natural face and soon found herself smiling.

"That was a side of you we haven't seen before." Hades spoke while smiling.

"If I hadn't seen it I wouldn't believe it." Tyr pointed out.

"Kusanagi Yui is actually a playful person." Tsukito said.

"Now I see why you like hanging out with Loki." Hoenir smirked. "You're actually a bit mischievous, too."

"Hah?" Yui said in surprise.

Balder took a step forward. "You seemed to enjoy the chase as well, Yui-san."

"H-Hang on everyone!" Yui laughed nervously. "I just got a little excited, that's all."

"Sure." Loki smirked and moved a little closer. "You got excited, drove away, took the drunk god with you, let him drive and ended up in a lake. Sounds like something I would do."

"Ahaha… Eh, surprised?" Yui smiled innocently.

"My darling Yui." Loki began. "Look me in the eye and tell me you would do something like that again if you got the chance."

Yui's cheeks turned red again, his face was so close, and it was quiet for a few seconds before she answered. "I… would."

"Honest girl." Bragi praised.

"As expected, she can't lie." Vidar said.

"Play with me next time, Yui-chan. I'm sure we'll have a great time." Freyja winked at her.

"B-But I'm not like Loki!" Yui exclaimed. "I won't play pranks on you, so you don't have to worry about that!"

What she just said made everyone laugh.

"We know you won't, Yui!" Sif giggled.

"But we're happy you feel so comfortable around us you wanted to show us your playful side, Fairy!" Apollon smiled widely.

"Well, it's only natural." Yui said shyly. "We're very close friends aren't we?"

After the words had left her mouth they all stared at her before Apollon and Freyja rushed to her side, hugging her close with happy tears in their eyes. "Fairy!" "Yui-chan!" They cried out as they rubbed their heads against her. "G-Guys? !" Yui stuttered.

"Hey, what do you think you're doing? !" Loki shouted.

Balder walked up to Loki from behind and put his hand on his shoulder. "Don't be jealous, Loki. Yui-san's our precious friend, when she says things like that we get very happy, you know?"

Loki sighed in defeat. "Alright… But I'm going to drop a smoke bomb if they hug her for more than 15 seconds!"

"20 seconds have passed." Tsukito informed.

"Time's up." Loki said and immediately dropped the bomb at their feet.

* * *

"Forgive meeee~!" Loki sang as he ran after Yui.

The remaining gods were watching from on top of the hill as Loki tried to "apologize" to her. Apparently the smoke bomb had hit her as well and now she wasn't very happy with him. When the smoke had disappeared she had stared at him before she slowly turned around and walked down the hill without a word. Loki had of course followed her, he simply couldn't leave her alone.

"Poor Yui-san." Balder smiled awkwardly.

"Should we help her?" Takeru asked.

"Nah, it's kind of fun to watch." Dionysus answered.

" _You're too impulsive, Loki! Think before you act!"_ They heard Yui shout.

" _I said I was sorry!"_

"She's going to forgive him." Thor stated.

" _Saying you're sorry doesn't mean anything if you just keep pulling pranks right after!"_

"She'll definitely forgive him." "She'll forgive him." Balder and Takeru said.

" _Don't think you'll get away with it just because we're together!"_

"Going to forgive him." Hades pointed out.

" _You can be so careless!"_

"Forgive hiiiiiim~" Apollon smiled.

" _And that smoke bomb smelled like candy!"_

"Here it comes." "Kusanagi Yui is going to forgive him." Dionysus and Tsukito spoke.

They watched as Loki walked up to her and took one of her hands in his and smiled down at her. _"But you'll forgive me, right?"_

Yui looked up at him, not saying anything at first, but then sighed in defeat. _"Yes, I'll forgive you, idiot…_ "

Their friends who were watching smiled at them but those smiles were soon replaced by gaping mouths when Loki suddenly leaned down and kissed her directly on the lips. He must have surprised Yui as well because she took a quick step back and covered her mouth with her hand, hiding some of her blushing face as well.

"L-Loki!" She cried out and turned her head to see if anyone had seen it. And they had. All of them…

Loki's attention soon turned to the people on the hill. "See that?" He called, smirking. "She loves me so much she forgave me right away!"

The red color on Yui's face disappeared and she narrowed her eyes at him. "Loki."

"Yeah?" Loki answered and turned to focus on her again.

Without any warning Yui's hand suddenly went into one of Loki's pockets, surprising both Loki and the others, and pulled out several pieces of candy-looking things.

As she inspected them, Loki looked at her with a confused look on his face. What exactly was she going to do with those exploding pieces of candy and how did she even know he had them? "Uh, Kitten?" He didn't have time to ask anything else because a piece of candy just exploded by his feet and he had to jump back to avoid it. "Woah!"

He had to keep jumping because Yui was chasing him, throwing the pieces at him as she did. "Don't do that in front of our friends!" She shouted at him.

Back on the hill their friends were laughing at the sight. Yui sure knew how to teach Loki a lesson. "Haha get him, Weed!" Takeru laughed.

"He sooo deserves that." Sif grinned.

"Well, guess I don't have to scold him now." Balder smiled while sweat dropping.

"She knew he was keeping those things in his pockets?" Hades asked, a bit amazed.

"Loki-Loki always carries fun stuff like that, right? Isn't that right?" Apollon uttered cheerfully.

"That is correct." Tsukito answered.

"Hey, aren't they almost out of sight now?" Dionysus asked. He could hardly see them anymore.

Yui and Loki had disappeared into the woods far away from the others but Yui just kept chasing him, even though she only had 3 pieces left in her hand. But perhaps she wouldn't get to use them because Loki had suddenly disappeared among the trees so she could no longer see him. He was good at hiding after all and would most likely take advantage of the situation and jump out of nowhere at any moment now, scaring the life out of her and making her regret she stole his exploding candy and throwing them at him. Yui knew what she had gotten herself into and leaned against a tree and sighed with her eyes closed. "I know you're here somewhere." She told him and opened her eyes again. There was no answer. "Loki, come out."

Movements behind the tree she was leaning against caught her attention and she smiled to herself before she quickly pushed herself away from the tree and jumped to the side and threw a piece of candy, only to see there was no one there. ' _Huh?_ ' She thought and her eyes widened when she realised her back was exposed.

Yui spun around and, as expected, came face to face with the god of fire. "Aah!" She screamed and jumped backwards and threw another piece at her grinning boyfriend who easily dodged it and sprinted towards her, making her drop the last piece of candy on the ground beside her. But just before it could explode Loki grabbed her and quickly moved them both to the side. When Yui realised what was going on she had her back against another tree and was trapped between Loki's arms. "You think you're funny, do you?" Loki asked her, still grinning.

"Hilarious." Yui giggled.

"So, your plan worked I see."

 _ **Silence ~**_

"Plan?"

"To get away from the others so we can be alone." Loki smirked and moved his face closer to hers.

"... N-No- Hang on a-!" Yui exclaimed. That wasn't her plan at all! She didn't even have a plan to begin with, all she had wanted was to teach Loki a lesson for kissing her in front of their friends. "I-..." She whispered, Loki's face was so close now. "I didn't…" It was no use trying to resist him, she was simply too captivated by him. "Loki…" Those were her last words before her lips were covered and she was captured in the moment.

 **A/N: About 4 days until next chapter is out!**


	30. Chapter 30

**Previously:**

Movements behind the tree she was leaning against caught her attention and she smiled to herself before she quickly pushed herself away from the tree and jumped to the side and threw a piece of candy, only to see there was no one there. ' _Huh?_ ' She thought and her eyes widened when she realised her back was exposed.

Yui spun around and, as expected, came face to face with the god of fire. "Aah!" She screamed and jumped backwards and threw another piece at her grinning boyfriend who easily dodged it and sprinted towards her, making her drop the last piece of candy on the ground beside her. But just before it could explode Loki grabbed her and quickly moved them both to the side. When Yui realised what was going on she had her back against another tree and was trapped between Loki's arms. "You think you're funny, do you?" Loki asked her, still grinning.

"Hilarious." Yui giggled.

"So, your plan worked I see."

 _ **Silence ~**_

"Plan?"

"To get away from the others so we can be alone." Loki smirked and moved his face closer to hers.

"... N-No- Hang on a-!" Yui exclaimed. That wasn't her plan at all! She didn't even have a plan to begin with, all she had wanted was to teach Loki a lesson for kissing her in front of their friends. "I-..." She whispered, Loki's face was so close now. "I didn't…" It was no use trying to resist him, she was simply too captivated by him. "Loki…" Those were her last words before her lips were covered and she was captured in the moment.

 **Now:**

"This was… your plan, wasn't it…?" Yui gasped through the kisses.

"Of course it was." Loki answered and captured her lips again. They had been making out for several minutes now and Yui just realised it had actually been Loki's plan to lure her away from the others. "You should have seen your face, though, when I said your plan worked. You're really too cute, Kitten."

"But the one with a plan was you." Yui smiled and pulled on his sweater so that he was even closer, then she stood on her toes and gave him a quick but gentle kiss.

Loki leaned down and nuzzled the side of her neck. "Like I said… too cute."

Yui was about to forget everything around her when she realised something important. "Wait, don't we have to go back to the others?"

"They can wait." Loki answered from her neck.

"But we just ran away without a word."

"Not my fault, you're the one who chased me here."

"I wouldn't have if you hadn't lured me away."

Yui could feel Loki's grin against her skin.

"I just did what had to be done." Loki said as he removed his head and stood up straight. "You didn't want me to kiss you in front of the others, so I got you away from them. A simple task." His face moved closer to hers again.

"Idiot." Yui giggled and let Loki kiss her one more time.

* * *

"I get the feeling you two did more than just chase each other around." Sif pointed out, smiling at Yui and Loki who had just returned after their little "moment" together.

"It's pretty obvious." Dionysus agreed. And how did they know this? Because Yui was blushing and Loki was grinning like an idiot. They were very easy to read.

Yui laughed nervously. "Ehehe, well…"

"Alright, we all know they did something, so what are we going to do now? It won't be dark for a while." Takeru asked, changing the subject.

"And we'll see the fireworks better when it's dark." Apollon added.

"How about we all go mountain biking?" Tyr suggested.

"That's a good idea!" Dionysus exclaimed.

"Ugh…" Balder sighed, remembering what had happened when he, Tyr and Vidar had gone mountain biking.

"Haha that's right, you fell didn't you?" Takeru asked.

"I did." Balder answered and sighed again.

"This is not going to end well…" Hades said in a low voice.

"Let's do it!" Loki said in excitement.

"Sounds fun." Freyr agreed.

"Let's go, let's go!" Apollon laughed.

"Oh dear…" Yui and Sif said in unison.

* * *

All the male gods were ready on their mountain bikes but Yui, Sif and Freyja were standing beside theirs, looking down at them with doubtful looks. "Hey, ladies, what's taking so long?" Hoenir asked.

"Nothing is going to happen if you just stare at them." Freyr added.

"Yeah, come on, jump on and let's go!" Takeru called.

The three women looked up at them with raised eyebrows. "Do we even have to say it?" Freyja asked.

The gods just blinked at them.

Sif sighed and pointed at her clothes. "We're wearing dresses…"

"Riding a bike is going to be hard." Yui added.

"It can't be that bad." Dionysus pointed out.

"Just try sitting on them, I'm sure you'll be able to ride them even if you're wearing that." Tyr said.

Yui and the other two looked at each other before they, without warning, started pulling up their dresses. The sudden exposure of bare legs made most of the gods turn red and Balder, Takeru, Hades and Vidar quickly turned their heads away from the sight. "Y-Yui-san!" Tyr exclaimed.

"Nice." Hoenir smirked, eyes glued on Yui's beautiful and slender legs. She had pulled her dress up so that it ended just below her butt, giving them a clear view of her nice figure. Even if all three were showing their legs only Thor seemed to be looking at Sif, the rest were more interested in Yui than the other two.

As Yui moved to try and sit on the bike Tsukito opened his mouth. "Kusanagi Yui has beautiful legs."

His unexpected comment made everyone turn to look at him. "Brother!" Takeru exclaimed. Takeru was one of those who had turned their heads away so he hadn't noticed Tsukito had kept his eyes on Yui's bare skin. "Are you still looking? !"

"I am." He answered as if it was nothing.

"Relax everyone." Sif said and jumped up on her bike. "It's just legs."

"That's right." Freyja agreed, she too moved to sit down on hers. "We can't ride these things otherwise."

"Loki, you're staring." They heard Yui say.

"How can I not stare?" Loki smirked, eyes still on her legs.

"Let's just go, kids. You young gods have no shame." Bragi commented.

"Right, right, let's go! You ready?" Apollon asked cheerfully and took off before anyone could answer him.

"Apollon, wait!" Hades called after him right before his nephew disappeared down a steep hill. Apollon wasn't prepared for the sudden change of height and speed and screamed as he went down fast through the rough terrain.

"Apollon-san!" "Agana Belea!" Yui and Balder cried out as the others started laughing. "There he goes!" Dionysus chuckled as his brother reached the end of the hill and disappeared into the woods, still screaming.

"Hahaha after him!" Takeru laughed and went down the hill as well but in a much more controlled way than Apollon. "I'm right behind you!" Loki called as he, Tyr, Hoenir, Dionysus, Vidar, Freyr and Freyja followed after him. Yui, Sif, Bragi, Hades, Tsukito, Balder and Thor decided to take it a little more easier and went down as carefully as they could and by the time they reached the end of the hill the others were already out of sight. But they could still hear their laughter and Apollon's screams from somewhere in the woods. "What do you say, should we try and catch up?" Sif asked.

"I don't think so, they're going way too fast." Bragi answered.

"We'll reach them eventually, we should just continue in our own speed. And besides," Yui said and turned to the nervous-looking Balder and Hades. "I don't think some of us want to go faster than needed."

"Ah, you're right." Sif said and sweat dropped. "Shall we go then?"

"One question." Hades spoke. "What's beyond the woods?"

"Hmm, probably cliffs, more steep hills, bumpy and rocky roads, I think." Yui explained.

"You did this earlier, Balder. What was it like?" Thor asked.

"Um, we took a different route then so I don't know how this one is like. And that's what makes me nervous…" Balder answered him.

"He's going to fall." Tsukito stated.

Yui could tell this was going to get "interesting". "A-Anyway, let's go and find out. We'll take it nice and slow, alright?"

 **3 minutes later:**

"AAAAAAAHHHHH! ! !" Yui, Sif, Bragi, Hades and Balder screamed as they went down another very steep and long hill that had appeared out of nowhere inside the woods. Tsukito didn't utter a sound but looked like he was going to puke any second now and Thor had his eyes closed, too scared to look.

"When does it eeeeend? !" "Make it stop!" Sif and Balder cried out.

Standing on the brakes didn't help for anyone and they just continued down at lightning speed. It was a good thing the bikes were made for this kind of terrain but it was amazing no one had fallen off yet, especially Balder since his bike was wiggling like crazy.

Not far away from the end of that hill the others had stopped and were currently waiting for Yui and the rest to catch up. They had noticed they were missing a few people when they had stopped to help Apollon, who had steered his bike the wrong way once he had reached the end, went over a tree root and flew off the bike and landed in a bush. "Perhaps they changed their minds about this?" Hoenir asked.

"Or they're just slow." Dionysus commented.

Loki let out a sigh. "Kitten left me behind again."

"I believe _**you**_ were the one who left _**her**_ behind." Takeru stated.

"They're most likely just taking it easy, I'm sure they-" Freyr started but was interrupted by his sister. "Do you guys hear something?"

Everyone got quiet and tried to listen.

"Screams?" Apollon asked after a few seconds.

A moment later the screams became much louder and the scared faces of their missing friends came into view, and fast! Balder was the first one down, closely followed by Sif and Yui, then came Hades, Bragi, Tsukito and Thor. But none of them were slowing down once they reached the end of the hill and continued at the same speed, following the pretty straight road until they reached a big bump and flew about 4 feet up in the air, managed to land without falling and then continued on the now sloping road. "Not another one!" Balder cried as he and the other screaming gods and human disappeared down the road, leaving their wide eyed friends behind. In fact, they didn't even notice they had passed them.

"What the-?" Tyr uttered.

"That's fast!" Takeru exclaimed.

"And they're out of control!" Dionysus added.

Loki wasted no time and hurried after them. "Yui, wait up!"

"Loki-Loki, wait for us!" Apollon called and soon, they were all trying to catch up with them, following the screams that seemed to be getting further and further away.

Meanwhile, Balder and the others were getting closer to the end of the woods. Beyond it waited a flat but curvy road surrounded by grass-covered hills that would soon take them to the bumpy roads of the mountains. But what they didn't know was that where the woods ended, so did the road they were following. So when Balder passed the last trees he went over the edge and fell 9 feet straight down to the flat ground below. This time he didn't go further because it was impossible for him to keep his balance any longer. When his bike hit the ground it immediately tipped over, sending him flying to the side and land in the grass beside the road. Sif, who was right behind him, hit his bike on the way down and was sent flying as well. Yui was a little more lucky and managed to avoid the two bikes lying on the road and keep her balance once she hit the ground. She continued to roll several yards before she finally managed to stop the bike. Hades miraculously landed with his bike further away as well but the landing didn't go very well and he fell off when the front wheel hit the ground before the other did. Bragi did what Yui had done and stopped his bike right behind hers, Tsukito too didn't fall but his bike stopped right beside where Hades was lying and Thor hit the brakes hard before he reached the edge and was lucky he managed to stop before he could fall down as well. He looked down at Sif who was trying to pull herself up. "You alright, Sif?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Sif answered and moved to help Balder up from the grass.

Tsukito jumped off his bike and offered Hades his hand. "Thank you." Hades said once he was back on his feet.

Soon, Loki and the rest reached them and stopped beside Thor right by the edge. "That was awesome!" Freyr called down to their more or less bruised friends.

"You surprised us there!" Dionysus laughed.

"I thought you were going to take it easy!" Takeru added.

Yui let out a small and awkward laugh. "I thought I was going to die."

"Me too, and I'm a god…" Bragi agreed, rubbing his head.

"Not hurt are you, Kitten?" Loki asked from the edge.

"No, it was a good landing but," She answered and looked at her friends who had fallen. "it didn't exactly go as planned…"

"Yeah, we were trying to take it nice and easy but that steep hill in the woods caught us by surprise." Sif explained.

"Wait, why were you guys behind us?" Balder asked.

"Haha, you didn't notice?" Freyja asked.

"You pretty much flew past us when you reached the end of that hill." Dionysus continued.

"Really? I didn't even see you." Hades said.

"We figured." Takeru snickered. "You were more busy screaming to notice we had stopped to wait for you."

"How nice." Bragi said. "Shall we continue?"

"Yes, but… How do we get down?" Apollon asked.

"Let gravity take you down, like we did." Balder smiled innocently.

"Heh, no way." Dionysus uttered.

Loki jumped off his bike and picked it up. "Watch out!" He exclaimed and threw it over the edge and both Balder and Sif jumped to the side as it landed right on top of their bikes. "Careful, Loki!" Balder called up to him.

"Watch out again!" Loki exclaimed once more as he jumped down after it and landed right beside Balder, surprising him so much he lost his balance again. Then he picked up his bike and looked up at the others. "Are you coming or not?"

They all threw a look at each other before they picked up their bikes and threw them over the edge, but not before Sif and Balder had removed theirs. Then they jumped down after them.

"They're almost ready to go." Bragi informed and turned to Yui. "Want to put some space between them and us so we can avoid any upcoming disasters?"

"Sounds like a plan." Yui giggled.

"Let's go then."

Yui and Bragi were able to get a pretty big head start before anyone noticed they were on the move. "Hey, where are you two going? !" Takeru called after them.

"Fairy!" Apollon cried out.

"Are you up to something again? !" Dionysus snickered.

" _You're too slow!"_ Bragi shouted over his shoulder. " _Try and catch up with us if you can!"_

"Damn, for an older god he's pretty lively." Freyr pointed out.

"Hey, Kitten! Are you going to leave me behind again! ?" Loki cried out.

" _Of course not! Come join me whenever you want!"_ Yui laughed.

"Alright, that's it!" Loki smirked and started chasing them. "Here I come!"

"W- Loki-Loki?" Apollon uttered before he and the rest quickly jumped up on their bikes and went after them.

"Oh dear." Sif sighed with a smile.

"Can we please go a little slower this time? !" Balder begged.

 **5 minutes later:**

"It's going too faaaaa- Ouch!" Balder cried out.

The stony road they were following was going up and down between the mountain walls and every time their bikes flew up in the air and hit the ground the air escaped their lungs, creating "hmph"-like sounds. But the more scary part was that they couldn't see if the road was going to end just like it had before. "No, no, no, watch out!" Takeru exclaimed right before Tyr drove into the side of his bike, causing them both to fall. "Holy mother of Odin!" Freyja cried when she accidentally let go of her bike as it went over a bump. A second later Sif was sent flying as well and landed on Thor's shoulders, his bike went sideways due to the extra weight and they both soon found themselves face to face with the dirty ground. It didn't take long before Vidar, Bragi and Hoenir too hit the ground and the only ones left rolling were Yui, Loki, Apollon, Dionysus, Hades, Balder, Freyr and Tsukito.

The bumpy ground suddenly became straight, allowing the remaining gods to breath. "Oh thank goodness…" Balder sighed in relief as he felt himself slowing down and closed his eyes to take a deep breath. But the peaceful moment didn't last for long when his bike picked up speed once again and he slowly opened his eyes as his face became dark. "Oh no…"

"No, not another one!" Yui shrieked.

"I'm going to have a talk with Zeus about all these steep hills!" Hades exclaimed. The road wasn't sloping as much as the ones before but still enough to make them lose control of their bikes.

"Woohooo!" Both Loki, Freyr and Dionysus laughed, not minding the speed and lack of control.

"Help, help, help, help, help!" Apollon cried out.

Tsukito threw a look to the side and said, "This is my stop." and somehow managed to steer the bike towards the mountain wall and crashed into it.

"Tsukito-san? !" Yui called out in worry.

"Guess he figured out how to stop!" Freyr grinned but a second later, a rock that was sticking up from the ground hit the side of his front wheel, pushing him to the side and drove into Hades. They both slammed into the ground, earning pained expressions from Yui, Balder, Apollon and Dionysus who could do nothing but continue down.

"That must have hurt!" Balder uttered.

"Is uncle alright? Is he alright?" Apollon asked.

"He's the god of the dead, if he dies he will just be sent home!" Dionysus joked.

"Bringing Freyr down with him as well!" Loki laughed.

Yui would have sighed if she wasn't so scared and nervous right now but when flat and green grass came into view she allowed her body to relax a little because this meant they were getting closer to the end of the mountains. But the smile on her face disappeared the moment she realised it wasn't what it seemed and gasped at the sight. Further down was a huge bump, making it seem like the road ended there and Yui swallowed hard before she yelled, "Um, guys! ?"

"What, Kitten?" Loki asked, he was having too much fun to notice what was waiting for them further down.

"Look down there!" She cried out and tried to stand on the brakes to make the bike slow down, but it didn't seem to help…

"What's down-" Apollon asked right before he spotted what Yui was referring to. "-there? !"

"My life is over!" Balder panicked.

"What do we do! ?" Yui cried out.

"Guess I have no choice." Loki said calmly and turned to Yui with a grin before he pushed himself off his bike, flew towards her and caught her in his arms and landed gracefully on the ground, leaving their bikes to fall freely down the sloping road.

"Hah? !" Balder and Apollon exclaimed in unison when they realised what Loki had done.

"Here goes nothing!" Dionysus shouted, still smiling, as he steered his bike into the mountain wall the same way Tsukito had done.

Balder and Apollon looked at each other with wide eyes, they were the only ones left now and started screaming when they realised it was too late to avoid the huge bump.

It took them high up in the air before gravity pulled them straight down again.

A bit further up Loki was still holding Yui in his arms, watching their two friends before they both disappeared. "Oh my- Are they going to be alright? !" Yui exclaimed.

"Don't worry, Balder falls all the time." Loki explained with a grin.

"Not from that height! I saw him let go of his bike just before he disappeared!"

Loki started walking towards the edge. "Let's see how it went, then."

When they got there he put her back on her own two feet and looked down to see if Apollon and Balder were alright, only to find that Balder's bike was alone down there and that the two gods were actually still moving down the road. On one bike! Balder had surprisingly managed to grab Apollon around the neck as they had fallen and was now clinging to his back. They were both still screaming.

Loki on the other hand started laughing at the sight. It looked like Apollon was carrying a huge backpack as he was trying to steer the wiggling bike. "Hahaha, hey guys, get down here! You have to see this!" He laughed.

Yui was sweat dropping but was relieved they weren't hurt, yet, and turned around to see all of their friends heading down towards them. They seemed to be alright as well, just a few bruises here and there. She turned to look down at the two screaming gods on the bike again, they were almost out of sight now. "Um, perhaps we should just get the fireworks and call it a day?"

 **A/N: I really enjoyed writing this chapter! xD Only two more to go and the next one will be out in about 5 days!**


	31. Chapter 31

**Previously:**

A bit further up Loki was still holding Yui in his arms, watching their two friends before they both disappeared. "Oh my- Are they going to be alright? !" Yui exclaimed.

"Don't worry, Balder falls all the time." Loki explained with a grin.

"Not from that height! I saw him let go of his bike just before he disappeared!"

Loki started walking towards the edge. "Let's see how it went, then."

When they got there he put her back on her own two feet and looked down to see if Apollon and Balder were alright, only to find that Balder's bike was alone down there and that the two gods were actually still moving down the road. On one bike! Balder had surprisingly managed to grab Apollon around the neck as they had fallen and was now clinging to his back. They were both still screaming.

Loki on the other hand started laughing at the sight. It looked like Apollon was carrying a huge backpack as he was trying to steer the wiggling bike. "Hahaha, hey guys, get down here! You have to see this!" He laughed.

Yui was sweat dropping but was relieved they weren't hurt, yet, and turned around to see all of their friends heading down towards them. They seemed to be alright as well, just a few bruises here and there. She turned to look down at the two screaming gods on the bike again, they were almost out of sight now. "Um, perhaps we should just get the fireworks and call it a day?"

 **Now:**

Apollon and Balder were sitting in the grass in front of the houses, surrounded by their friends. Apollon hadn't been able to carry Balder on his back for long and had crashed about 2 minutes after Balder had lost his bike. Their friends had turned back into their god forms and flown down to help them and once they had made sure everything was alright they had returned to where the houses were standing. They didn't stay in their god forms though, they had taken the human forms again once they had landed. Most of them were grinning down at their two exhausted-looking, blonde friends. "Are you two feeling alright?" Takeru asked, trying to hold back the laughs.

Loki couldn't stop snickering. "That was a sight worth seeing!"

"I'm still dizzy…" Balder complained.

"My whole body aches." Apollon added.

"You'll be fine!" Dionysus laughed and patted his brother on the back pretty hard. "You had time to rest when I carried you back here!"

"Dee-Dee!" Apollon cried out.

"That was hardly enough time…" Hades pointed out.

"Hm? Yui-chan, what are you doing?" Freyja asked when she noticed Yui was going through one of the bags of fireworks a little further away from where they were standing. When Yui had found what she was looking for she returned to the others with two sparklers and a lighter in her hands. She held them out in front of Balder and Apollon's faces. "Hope these will cheer you up." She smiled down at them.

Both of their faces lit up and they immediately took them from her. "Thank you, Fairy!" Apollon laughed and held his one out so she could lit it.

The moment it started sparkling Sif, Freyr, Freyja, Tyr, Hoenir, Vidar and Bragi jumped back in surprise. "Woah!" Tyr exclaimed.

"Ooh, so beautiful!" Sif smiled widely.

"What an interesting invention." Hoenir commented.

"Ha, if you enjoy that, then you should see the rest!" Takeru smirked.

They didn't have to wait for long because it was already getting darker and once the moon was up and the stars decorated the sky they moved to the nearest hill and took out the fireworks from the bags. This was new to the gods and goddesses who hadn't been to the academy with Yui and her friends, so when a rocket flew high up in the air and exploded they all fell to the ground and gasped at the sight. Loki and Takeru started laughing while the rest smiled down at them in amusement, they hadn't expected them to react this way. Soon, more and more fireworks took to the sky and when the newer gods had gotten used to them they joined the others in a game of tag, chasing each other with sparklers. "A-Ah, please be careful!" Yui laughed nervously. Of course they didn't listen to her and continued to try and _**burn**_ each other with the sparkling sticks. Realising it was no use trying to stop them she took out a bag of firecrackers, wondering how strong they were. But she didn't have time to find out before Loki appeared right in front of her. "Loosen up, Kitten." He smirked and leaned down to give her a quick kiss on the mouth. This made all the other gods gasp and stop dead in their tracks. Yui's eyes were wide at first but then her body started shaking and narrowed her eyes at the trickster god. "Loki…!" She hissed through her teeth. The moment after she started throwing the firecrackers at Loki's feet, forcing him to jump backwards as she continued to throw the small, yet explosive, things at him. "I told you not to do that!" She shouted.

Their friends, who had stopped playing around, looked at the unusual couple as they were getting further and further away from the group. Loki was laughing the whole time, clearly enjoying it, and Yui refused to give up the chase. She could not let him win like he had when she had chased him with his own candy! "Remind me not to piss her off." Takeru said in amusement.

"I don't think we need to worry, the only one she would try to hurt like that is Loki." Sif giggled. "...Right?"

They turned to look at each other in uncertainty.

"... Let's not push our luck, just in case." Hades stated.

* * *

"That was all we had." Dionysus said, holding one of the empty bags in his hands.

"Already?" Freyr asked.

"Heh, you aren't satisfied yet?" Takeru grinned.

"It was just so funny!" Sif laughed. "Too bad it's over…"

"This was not the first and last time, we can always do it again another day." Yui informed.

"I definitely want to do this again, I had a really good time today." Tyr said. "I've never felt so relaxed."

Some of them looked at him as if he was insane. "Relaxed? !" Balder, Hades and Bragi exclaimed.

"Speak for yourself, I'm exhausted." Freyja giggled. "But yes, I had really fun today, too."

"Should we think about going inside to rest and then sleep?" Vidar asked.

"Good idea, there are many houses here." Hoenir agreed.

"Well then!" Loki grinned and put his arm around Yui's shoulders. "See ya tomorrow, Kitten and I are going to sleep alone!" He called as he led the confused girl towards the houses.

"Not so fast!" Balder and Takeru shouted after them.

Freyja and Sif were quick to pull Yui away from Loki. "As if we'd let you do that." Sif smirked. "We're all going to sleep together in one house."

"What's the fun in that?" Loki asked, disappointed.

"Won't it be too crowded?" Bragi asked. "I was informed there are four bedrooms in each house and we are 16 people."

"Then we will bring mattresses from the other houses and sleep on the floor. And there's a couch we can sleep on too, right?" Apollon suggested.

"Good idea, we've spent the whole day together, so why stop now?" Balder agreed.

"Damn it…" Loki complained. He didn't like this idea at all. But he didn't have a choice, so he just went along with the others to get the mattresses. It was then decided that Yui, Freyja, Sif and Bragi could take the bedrooms and the rest could sleep in the living room, so after they had eaten they all prepared to go to bed. But Loki wasn't about to give up and walked up to Yui from behind as she was taking care of the dishes and the others were occupied with other things. "Hey." He whispered in her ear. "Don't lock the door later."

"H-Huh?" Yui stuttered but Loki had already left, not giving her time to ask him why. She could feel her cheeks turn red and quickly turned to focus on the dishes to distract herself, if the others saw her face now they would definitely figure out something was up. ' _W-Why am I getting nervous?_ '

"Yui, we're ready for bed now, are you?" Sif asked from the entrance to the kitchen.

"Ah, yes, I'm almost done!" Yui smiled, trying to hide her nervousness.

"Great, goodnight and see you tomorrow!"

"Goodnight, Sif-san!"

When Yui was done she said goodnight to the ones who were still up and walked up the stairs to her bedroom and closed the door behind her. She hadn't planned to lock the door, even before Loki had told her not to, because she was pretty sure her friends wouldn't walk in. But now that she knew Loki would come the thought hit her, not that a locked door could stop him anyway… It wasn't like she didn't want him to come to her, it was just that she was afraid their friends would hear them if they took things, um, far enough. ' _We… We just have to be quiet…_ ' She thought and stepped away from the door, leaving it unlocked and moved to sit on the bed.

She had waited for almost an hour in the dark room when she heard the door open slowly. She waited to say something until the door was closed again. "What took you so long?"

Loki smirked as he walked up to the bed where she was sitting. "So eager to be alone with me?"

"Don't tease me, I was just wondering where you were."

"Balder wouldn't stop talking and he fell asleep like 2 minutes ago." Loki explained and offered Yui his hand and pulled her up from the bed. He kissed her immediately after that and Yui wasn't about to resist him and hugged him around the neck. "The others will hear if we're not quiet." Yui whispered through the kisses.

"And that's why we're escaping." Loki grinned, took her hand in his and walked towards the window.

"Loki?"

Loki changed into his god form before he opened the window. "Alright, let's go."

"Bu- But where?"

He pulled her towards him and picked her up, then they flew out the window and left their unsuspecting and sleeping friends behind. When they landed they were several houses away from them, there was no way they would be able to hear them now. Loki put his girl down and opened the door to another house. "After you."

Yui smiled at him and walked inside, stopping when she heard Loki close the door behind them. But she didn't turn around, instead she closed her eyes and waited. It didn't take long before Loki's arms sneaked around her from behind and started kissing her neck. Yui had nothing to complain about, they were alone, no one could hear them, the house was dark and she was ready. His hands were moving all over her body and she responded by leaning closer against him and giving him more access to her neck.

They continued like that for another minute before Loki stopped and whispered, "Shall we continue upstairs?"

Yui, with her back still turned to him, nodded and allowed Loki to pick her up in his arms again and take her up the stairs to the bedroom, closing the door behind them with his foot as they disappeared inside the dark room.

* * *

When morning came and it was getting brighter outside the gods were starting to wake up, a little annoyed with the sun for disturbing their sleep. It wouldn't have mattered if they had been in their god forms but since none of them had turned back yet they felt the need to sleep in and tossed and turned on the mattresses as they tried to go back to sleep. It wasn't until they heard footsteps coming down the stairs they decided they should try and wake up. "Morning guys!" Sif greeted and walked up to Thor, who was still sleeping, and nudged him with her foot. "Rise and shine."

A moment later Balder, Takeru, Apollon and Tyr sat up and stretched their arms. "Good morning." Apollon said with a yawn.

"Damn, I wanted to sleep more. Human bodies are so weak…" Takeru complained.

"Now I know how Yui-san feels when she's not getting enough sleep." Tyr added and stood up from the floor.

Balder looked like he wanted to lie back down but stopped himself when he noticed the mattress beside his was empty. He took a look around the room before he asked the ones who were awake, "Where is Loki?"

It got very quiet as eyes turned to him and then to the spot where Loki was supposed to be. Then they looked at each other with wide eyes when they realised what must have happened and hurried up the stairs and stopped by the closed door to Yui's room. "Should we knock?" Tyr asked. "Of course we have to!" Balder exclaimed. "Just open the door!" Takeru shouted. "We can't do that, what if they're doing something in there?" Sif frowned. "You really think Loki-Loki went into her room? He would do that?" Apollon asked. "Yes!" They all exclaimed and Takeru immediately moved to open the door.

"T-Takeru!" Sif shouted quietly but it was too late to stop him and the door flew open. Takeru was just about to open his mouth and shout something at Loki but quickly stopped himself and the rest had to hold their breaths so they wouldn't make any noises. Inside the room on the bed Yui was sleeping, alone! And they slowly backed out of the room and Takeru closed the door very quietly. "Well, um…" He said in shame.

"He wasn't there." Sif pointed out.

"No, it appeared he wasn't…" Tyr spoke.

"I feel bad now, I feel bad!" Apollon cried out.

"Agana Belea, please be quiet." Balder said, trying to calm him down.

"But, where is he then?" Takeru asked.

" _What are you all doing?_ " They heard Hades ask them from downstairs.

"Ah, um, nothing!" Apollon laughed awkwardly.

"We're coming down now." Sif said and pushed the boys towards the stairs.

Once they were down again, Hades and Dionysus were waiting for them. "You disappeared fast." Dionysus pointed out.

"Ehehe, guess we jumped to the wrong conclusion." Apollon said and rubbed his head in embarrassment.

"I thought for sure they had done something." Takeru commented.

"Who?" Freyr asked as he pulled himself up from the mattress.

"Loki and Yui-san." Balder answered. "Loki wasn't here when we woke up."

In that moment, Loki's grinning face appeared from inside the kitchen. "Good morning~" He sang. "Ready for breakfast?"

"Loki?" "Loki-Loki?" Balder and Apollon exclaimed in surprise. "You were in the kitchen the whole time?" Takeru asked.

"Where else would I be?" Loki asked innocently. "Come on before it gets cold." And then he disappeared into the kitchen again. Thor, Vidar, Hoenir and Tsukito followed him without question, leaving the others to wonder if Loki actually hadn't done anything suspicious.

"I wonder what he has made? Loki has always been a good cook." Sif smiled and followed them, forgetting about their earlier conversation.

"I love Loki's food!" Balder agreed and ran towards the kitchen.

"Weed and the other two are still sleeping upstairs, should we wake them?" Takeru asked.

"Let them sleep." Tyr answered.

"They'll come down when they're ready." Hades added.

When the remaining gods walked into the kitchen the others had already started eating. The food Loki had made stood on the table, consisting of pancakes, eggs, bacon and bread. A lot of it. "You had time to make all this?" Dionysus asked in disbelief.

"We didn't even hear you move around in here." Apollon pointed out.

"But it smells so good!" Balder smiled widely as he filled his plate with bacon.

"Eat as much as you want, Balder." Loki grinned proudly at his best friend beside him and handed him some eggs as well.

As time passed they were starting to wonder if they should wake the remaining 3 people upstairs since they were almost done.

"How long are they planning to sleep?" Balder asked. "We're returning home today."

"The beds are probably too comfortable." Hades answered.

"They are." Sif confirmed and smiled in satisfaction. "You should have joined me, Thor." She joked.

Thor blinked at her and then looked down at the food in front of him. "Remind me next time."

 **Silence ~**

"Wohoo~ Are you actually accepting her invitation?" Dionysus grinned.

"... I am."

Thor's answer made Sif's eyes wide in surprise but she quickly looked away. "T-Then I will tell you next time…" She didn't have time to be embarrassed for long because screams from upstairs caught their attention.

Apollon, Balder, Loki, Hades and Takeru rushed up the stairs to see what was going on just in time to see Freyja and Bragi pulling themselves up from the floor in the doorway to Yui's room. "What are you doing? That's Yui-san's room." Balder asked.

Bragi just rubbed his head, embarrassed about the situation as Freyja seemed to be helping the person inside the room up from the floor. "Sorry, sweetheart." She apologized.

"It's alright, Freyja-san." They heard Yui say right before she and the goddess stepped out of the room where they were waiting. Yui looked at them in surprise. "What's going on?"

"That's what we were going to ask." Takeru said. "We heard screams."

"Oh, that…" Freyja laughed nervously. "When I came out of my bedroom I wanted to see if Loki had sneaked into Yui-chan's room and pressed my ear against the door."

"And I noticed her and told her to stop." Bragi continued. "But Yui was obviously on her way out and opened the door when Freyja was still leaning against it. When she started falling I tried to grab her but lost my balance and fell down with her."

"And then we, sort of, landed on her. Please forgive me, Yui-chan, I shouldn't have tried to spy on you." Freyja told Yui.

Yui just smiled sweetly at her. "I forgive you, Freyja-san, I was just surprised."

"My god… Here we thought something bad had happened." Hades sighed in relief.

"Something bad did happen." Loki said with a small smirk and made his way over to Yui. "You should be careful with a woman in her condition." Yui's cheeks turned pink and she looked away from Loki and down to the floor.

"Condition?" Their friends asked in unison.

"Ah, it's nothing!" Yui exclaimed, remembering what had taken place last night. She was feeling sore, yes, but had hoped she could hide it so the others wouldn't notice. Loki on the other hand wasn't about to keep the secret. "Of course it is, you should rest your body."

"Loki…!" She exclaimed through her teeth.

Freyja had figured it out by now and smirked at them. "Alright, what did you two do last night?"

"N-Nothing worth mentioning!" Yui stuttered.

Takeru and Balder crossed their arms as they turned to Loki.

"I took her to another house after you had fallen asleep." Loki explained.

"You-You-You-! ?" Takeru shouted.

"Lokiiiii…" Balder warned.

"Don't worry, I was really gentle with her." Loki grinned.

Bragi placed a hand over his face, feeling sorry for Yui, and Apollon looked like he was about to faint.

"In the beginning at least." He added.

"That's it! You're dead!" Takeru screamed and sprinted towards Loki, who jumped to the side to avoid him. Takeru continued to chase him and the whole thing ended with both gods running down the stairs, passing their surprised and confused friends who had stepped out from the kitchen to see what was taking so long, and then out the door. Balder and the others followed them down the stairs, leaving an embarrassed Yui alone outside her room. She could hear their shouts and laughter both downstairs and outside and started smiling once she had calmed her nerves. "So, this is how it's going to be." She said to herself. ' _A life with Loki is definitely going to be interesting. I should have known he wouldn't be able to keep his mouth shut and I believe it's going to take a while before our friends get used to this and stop trying to hurt him the moment he lays his hands on me._ ' She thought with a small giggle. "Oh well." She said and started walking towards the stairs. "Let's see if I can help him out of this mess."

 **A/N: One more chapter left! And it will be out in about 6 - 8 days!**


	32. Chapter 32

**Previously:**

"You-You-You-! ?" Takeru shouted.

"Lokiiiii…" Balder warned.

"Don't worry, I was really gentle with her." Loki grinned.

Bragi placed a hand over his face, feeling sorry for Yui, and Apollon looked like he was about to faint.

"In the beginning at least." He added.

"That's it! You're dead!" Takeru screamed and sprinted towards Loki, who jumped to the side to avoid him. Takeru continued to chase him and the whole thing ended with both gods running down the stairs, passing their surprised and confused friends who had stepped out from the kitchen to see what was taking so long, and then out the door. Balder and the others followed them down the stairs, leaving an embarrassed Yui alone outside her room. She could hear their shouts and laughter both downstairs and outside and started smiling once she had calmed her nerves. "So, this is how it's going to be." She said to herself. ' _A life with Loki is definitely going to be interesting. I should have known he wouldn't be able to keep his mouth shut and I believe it's going to take a while before our friends get used to this and stop trying to hurt him the moment he lays his hands on me._ ' She thought with a small giggle. "Oh well." She said and started walking towards the stairs. "Let's see if I can help him out of this mess."

 **Now:**

Yui was thinking back on the memories she shared with her friends, the gods. About how she was allowed to live among them, when she was given the task to come up with ideas for the island, when she cared for the human boy, when she got cursed, when she and Loki got together and when they all went to spend a day on the island to "test it". So much had happened in a blink of an eye and time just continued to flow after that, barely giving them time to adjust. Not that it bothered them, they always had things to do, fun things, and they had all the time in the world. Now she was standing in the kitchen inside her cottage she was now sharing with Loki, he had moved in a few months after they had visited the island. Well, he had basically moved in right after but it wasn't until he had moved all his stuff to her cottage they made it official. In fact, the trickster hadn't moved all his stuff at once, they hadn't even talked about living together, he had just sneaked things into her home now and then so she wouldn't notice a big change. Yui had just woken up one day, taken a good look around the house and realised just how many things Loki had brought with him. Because he had moved one thing at a time she had barely noticed what was going on and once she had gotten used to see the thing he brought into her home he went right ahead to bring another one. The poor woman had just been standing there in the middle of the living room for several minutes before she went back to the bedroom to ask Loki about it when the thought hit her, Loki had been sleeping beside her for as long as she could remember, they were never apart. And now that she thought about it, the only times he had left to go home to his own cottage was when… he… had… gone… to… get… more… stuff…! He had moved in without her realising it! When everything became clear she had taken a deep breath and moved to sit down on the couch, the couch that actually belonged to Loki, and started wondering where her own couch had went. A minute later she had begun to giggle, her boyfriend was a really sneaky one and she had walked right into his trap by making her adapt to the changes little by little. She hadn't been angry, she was more embarrassed about how she hadn't figured it out until now, and had stood up from the couch to confront Loki who was still sleeping in "their" bed. She had more or less attacked him by jumping right on top of him, shouting out things about how he had tricked her. He had responded by laughing at her for being so slow and the whole wrestling match had ended in a make out session. And after that… Let's just say they hadn't been seen outside the cottage at all that day. Smiling at the memories Yui continued to focus on the food she was making, food that was enough to fill 4 people and she was still wondering if it was enough. Her thoughts were interrupted when two arms sneaked around her body from behind. "I'm home, Kitten!" A grinning Loki greeted.

"Can't believe you're still calling me that." Yui giggled.

"What else can I call you?" Loki joked.

"How about "wife"?"

That's right, 10 years had passed since they had admitted their feelings to each other, and the two lovebirds had been married for 3. When Loki had proposed he had done it in front of everyone, during one of the big dinners Odin had arranged. He had surprised her by doing so, she never thought he was the type of god to do that but she was happy he had, so they could share their happy moment with the people they cared deeply about.

"Alright then, **wife** ," Loki smirked. "why are you making so much?"

"Don't tell me you have forgotten? The dwarves, Otr-san and Regin-san are coming over later for dinner. We invited them, remember?"

Loki let out a sigh and rested his head on top of hers. "I don't like dwarves…"

"You hardly like anyone." Yui joked.

"That's not true, I like you and Balder."

"... And?"

"All of our friends of course." Loki admitted in defeat. "But that's it! I don't have any room left in my heart for dwarves."

"We still invited them to our wedding."

"Because you wanted to, along with the centaurs and the rest of the outcasts."

"You didn't complain, though." She giggled and turned around in his arms to face him.

"Hmm, only because it made you happy." Loki said and leaned down so their faces were almost touching. "That little otter likes you, you know."

"Otr-san? He's just friendly."

"More than friendly if you ask me."

"Are you jealous? Don't be, you know you're the only one I want."

"I know." Loki smiled and gave her a kiss. "But the dwarf doesn't seem to know."

"You're too adorable when you worry, Loki."

About an hour later the two dwarf brothers arrived, earning stares from the gods they passed on their way to Yui's cottage. "They're just not used to dwarves walking around in their village, let them stare." Regin said.

"It's a good thing we're Yui-san's friends or we wouldn't be allowed to be here." Otr pointed out.

"Yeah, it is."

When they reached the cottage Regin moved to knock on the door. It opened just a few seconds later. "Regin-san, Otr-san, welcome! I'm so glad you could make it." Yui smiled down at them.

"Hello Kusanagi-san, thank you for inviting us to your home." She was still called "Kusanagi" by some, even though she was married to Loki.

"It was my pleasure, please, come inside. The dinner is ready."

"Great! I'm starving!" Otr exclaimed and hurried inside.

" _Don't get too comfortable, you greedy dwarf!_ " They heard Loki call from further inside the cottage.

" _I'm surprised she hasn't divorced you yet, you stupid god!_ " Otr called back.

" _Why on earth would she do that? !_ "

" _Because you are a trickster! But don't worry, I'll take good care of her in your place!_ "

" _Why you little-!_ "

Yui and Regin, who were still standing in the doorway looked at each other before they started laughing. Those two were like cat and mouse, they'd never get along.

* * *

"Are you going to the island with Sif later, Thor?" Balder asked as they were walking down the snow covered road.

"I am. She wanted us to spend time together."

"I'm not surprised. She's waiting for you to propose to her so you can finally settle down like Yui-san and Loki."

"I know."

"And what are you going to do? You've been together almost as long as they have, what's stopping you?"

"I'm waiting for the right moment."

"And when is that?"

"Later today."

"... Really?"

"I'll ask her to marry me when we're at the beach."

"Oh, well, good luck then, my friend!"

"Thank you."

"By the way, isn't it today the two dwarves were going to-"

" _Come back, you little rat!_ " They heard Loki shout in the distance.

"Yup…" Thor answered.

Once the two gods were closer they saw Loki chasing Otr, in the form of an otter, with a snowball while Yui and Regin were watching. "Yui-san!" Balder called, making Yui look to the side to see them walking towards them. "Hello Balder-san, Thor-san!" She called back.

"Hello." Thor greeted.

"I see the dinner went well." Balder sweat dropped, looking at his best friend chasing an animal.

Yui let out a nervous laugh. "Hehe, yeah."

"It was very entertaining." Regin confirmed with a smile.

"I apologize for my husband's behaviour, Regin-san." Yui apologized, looking down at the older dwarf beside her.

"Don't, Kusanagi-san, my brother hasn't exactly been going easy on him either."

Before Yui could answer him Otr and Loki were now heading their way and Loki was throwing like, 20 snowballs at once at him. But a small animal is hard to hit, even for Loki, and the snowballs flew right past him and continued towards Yui and the other three. And they were all hit, letting out screams in surprise as the force of the snowballs made them fall backwards. "Good job, Loki!" Otr laughed mockingly. "You just shot down your wife!"

"Don't you worry, dwarf, I'll be sure to warm her up real good after you've left." Loki smirked. "I'll make her forget you were even here today."

This made Otr stop in his tracks and turn back into a dwarf. He then glared at him, clearly jealous but now Loki had him where he wanted and he took this chance to throw a snowball at him. "Now I've got you!" Loki laughed as the huge ball flew towards Otr and hit him in the head before he could react and the dwarf began to fall.

Meanwhile, Yui and the others had pulled themselves up from the snow, obviously she had heard what Loki had said because the blush on her face refused to disappear.

"Why you-!" Otr shouted and wiped the snow off his face.

Loki was now standing right in front of him and grabbed Otr's other hand and helped him up before he could protest. "This was fun." He smirked. "Let's see if you can beat me next time."

Otr blinked at him in surprise but then smirked back. "You better be prepared."

"Otr!" Regin called. "It's time for us to leave!"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming." Otr sighed and he and Loki started making their way to them.

"Thank you for everything, Kusanagi-san." Regin smiled. "Next time it's our turn to invite you."

"Thank you for coming and I look forward to that." Yui smiled back.

"You're not going to make me go there, are you! ?" Loki cried out to his wife.

"We _**are**_ going, Loki." Yui almost hissed at him.

If there was anything that scared Loki, it was when Yui got angry. "Y-Yes!" He stuttered, making Balder laugh. "What are you laughing for, Balder? !"

"It's just so fun to see how she's able to make you shiver!"

"Like you're the one to talk! Your legs are shaking!"

Balder stopped laughing and looked down. "O-Oh, they are…"

Otr took the opportunity to walk up to Yui and took her hand in his and kissed it. "Until next time."

"Yes." Yui smiled at him, ignoring the glare coming from Loki.

When the two dwarf brothers were out of sight Yui stopped waving and turned to the others. "Do you want to come inside for some tea?" She asked Thor and Balder.

"I'd like that, Yui-san." Balder smiled widely.

"Yes, please." Thor agreed.

"Then let's-"

" _So slippery!_ " They heard a familiar voice yell in the distance and turned to see where it came from.

A second later they spotted Apollon, he was sliding down the snow covered road on his butt at a very high speed, just like he had done many years ago. And further away they could see Hades, Dionysus, Takeru and Tsukito running after him, shouting out his name. Yui and the others followed Apollon with their eyes as he got closer and closer to her and Loki's cottage. "Oh dear…" Yui uttered right before Apollon crashed into the door, making a huge hole in it just like last time and disappeared inside.

An awkward silence occurred among them but it didn't take long before Loki burst out laughing. "Hahahaha, I got to see it! So that's how it looked like!"

"L-Loki…" Yui sighed.

"He… He did it again…" Balder said in disbelief.

By now, the rest of their friends had caught up with him. "Hey, Apollon!" Takeru called. "You destroyed the door again!"

Hades made his way over to Yui. "I apologize, Kusanagi. We weren't able to stop him."

Yui let out a small awkward laugh. "Ehe, don't worry about it."

"Maaaan…" Dionysus sighed in amusement. "Can't believe he actually did it again. The past is repeating itself."

Apollon then popped his head out from the hole in the door. "Hello Fairy! We just stopped by to say hello!" He greeted cheerfully.

"I can see that." Loki snickered.

"Hello, Apollon-san." Yui smiled, trying to ignore the broken door.

"I'll go get someone who can fix it." Thor said calmly as he turned around to leave.

"Ah, thank you." Yui called after him.

"What are we going to do with you, Apollon?" Takeru sighed and Hades and Dionysus nodded in agreement.

"Huh? What did I do?" Apollon asked, confused.

"Why don't you look around and see for yourself?" Loki told him.

Apollon looked to his right and then to his left, then up and down. "O-Oh, hehe, sorry about this."

"Apollon-san." Yui giggled. "You and snow don't go very well together, do you?"

"Ehehe, no, I guess not." Apollon laughed in embarrassment.

"Get out of there, Apollon, you look like an owl peeking out from its nest." Dionysus joked.

"Right!" Apollon said and stood up, forgetting about the hole he was peeking out from and hit the back of his head on the edge. "Ouch!" He cried out and fell backwards and disappeared on the other side of the door.

This made everyone laugh.

"Poor Agana Belea!" Balder chuckled.

"I can't even be mad at him!" Loki laughed.

"No one can!" Takeru snickered.

"Oh well." Yui giggled and started walking towards her cottage. "Let me give you a hand, Apollon-san."

A while later Thor was back with a new door, explaining that the god who had given it to him had made it a few years back just in case something like this would happen again.

When everything was back to normal they had gone inside to talk about things that had happened during the month they hadn't been able to see each other. They even got to play the game "Twister" before Thor had to leave to meet up with Sif. Dionysus and Tsukito had stayed a little longer than him but then they had left to go visit the island as well, apparently Dionysus had wanted someone he could order around while drinking in the spa house, his new favorite place. The island had turned out to be a huge success and gods and goddesses from all over the world visited it regularly. Freyja and her brother Freyr were there right now, learning about human stuff in the academy together with many others and with Thoth as their teacher, poor things… The moment he had heard that they were in need of a teacher he had dragged Anubis with him to the island to help new "students" learn about the human world. Everyone who went to the academy even received the same kind of uniforms Yui and her friends had worn when they were students at Zeus's academy.

"I want to go to the island, too!" Apollon uttered in excitement and turned to Hades. "Can we go, uncle? Can we go, please?"

"Go if you want." Hades answered simply.

"Buuuut it's no fun to go alone! Can't you go with me?"

"Not today, I have things I need to take care of later."

"I'll go with you, Apollon!" Takeru smirked.

"Aha! Really! ?" Apollon exclaimed.

"Let's go mountain biking."

"Yeah! Let's-...!" Apollon stopped right in the middle of the sentence and his face darkened, he hadn't gone mountain biking since that time 10 years ago. "Uh, mountain biking…?"

"Hell yeah! Come on sunshine!" Takeru laughed and grabbed Apollon's arm. "We'll take the same route we took the first time we did it!"

"N-No, no!" Apollon almost cried.

"Steep hills and rocky mountains, here we come!" Takeru smirked and teleported himself and the panicking sun god away before he could protest.

"It seems my misfortune has struck again…" Hades sighed.

* * *

"You take care of yourselves now!" Yui waved at Balder and Hades as they walked away from the cottage.

" _You too, Kusanagi!_ " " _I'll come visit you and Loki again soon!_ " Hades and Balder called back.

Once they were out of sight she went back inside and closed the door behind her. She was just about to start putting a few things away when she noticed how quiet it had gotten. Sure, you shouldn't expect so much noises inside a home where only two people lived but she wasn't living with just anyone, she lived with Loki and the silence was kind of making her nervous. ' _Where did he go?_ ' She thought and looked inside the kitchen to see if he was there. He wasn't. ' _Did he sneak out?_ '

She peeked inside their bedroom. "Loki?"

In that moment someone grabbed her from behind and pulled her close. "Damn, I thought they'd never leave."

"Wha- Loki?" Yui exclaimed in surprise.

"They should just go to that island and stay there for good so I can have you for myself."

"You would get bored if they did that."

Loki let out a sigh. "True… But I'll choose you over them any day."

"That's sweet of you but isn't it nice to spend time with them now and then?"

"As long as they leave when I feel like doing things with only you."

Yui turned her head to the side to get a glimpse of his face, that's when she noticed he was smirking. "Things? What sort of things?"

"You know, _**things**_."

Now Yui knew exactly what he meant. "Ah, um!" Was all she managed to get out before Loki removed the hair from her neck so he could reach it with his lips. "L-Loki! Now! ?"

She could feel his grin against her neck. "Why not?"

Yui was about to give in, resisting him was really hard, but then her heart sped up and she was starting to feel playful. She smiled to herself and quickly pushed herself away from Loki, making him look at her in confusion. She took a few steps inside the bedroom and turned around to face him. "If we continue like this you're going to get me pregnant you know?"

Loki's mischievous smile decorated his face. "So what?" He asked and stepped in after her.

"Alright then." Yui smiled and closed her eyes. She could hear him getting closer and closer. Loki was almost right in front of her when she suddenly opened her eyes and grinned at him as she spun around and ran for the portal. "You will have to find and catch me first!" She laughed and disappeared through the portal.

"Hey!" Was the last thing she heard before she found herself surrounded by trees.

Feeling proud of herself she took a look around to see where she had ended up. She knew she had thought of a place before she had stepped through the portal but the thought had hit her so fast she didn't have time to think just _**where**_ exactly this place was. It had just popped up inside her head. ' _If I don't know where I am, then I don't think Loki will-... Wait, isn't this-?_ ' She thought as she remembered something. "I wonder…" She said to herself and started walking towards a house she had spotted in the distance. When the full house came into view everything came back to her and she heard herself gasp. "This is…" She whispered. Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard laughter coming from somewhere further inside the woods and she quickly moved to hide behind a tree.

The laughter got closer and soon she could hear footsteps coming her way. "Should we really leave him like that?" Came the voice of a young boy.

"Don't worry." Another boy said. "I used to wander into the woods all the time when I was younger. Mom told me so."

"But this is the first time your little brother is here, right? Playing hide and seek in here with a 3 year old who doesn't know his way around is-"

"You worry too much. If he can't find us then we'll go find him."

Meanwhile, Yui was trying to stay quiet and listen to the conversation. ' _Those kids, I can't see them but they sound like someone who can't be older than 12, maybe 10 or 11._ '

"By the way, Hiroto, isn't this the place where you disappeared when you were like 1 year old? I heard our parents talk about it before."

' _Hiroto…! ?_ ' Yui thought in shock.

"Yeah… I was too young to remember what happened but… I do remember there was someone who was very kind to me. The memory is very faint, but it's there… I think she saved me and took me home."

"Wow, that's something…!" His friend exclaimed.

"I don't know if it was just a dream or actual memories, though… They've been following me for as long as I can remember."

Yui felt like she was going to cry, the boy they had saved 10 years ago was right there. And he had grown up. ' _Hiroto…_ ' She thought. ' _I'm so glad!_ '

"Well, anyway, I'll go back to look for your brother, I'm getting a little worried." Hiroto's friend said before he ran back the same way they had come from.

"I told you not to worry!" Hiroto called after him but he was already out of sight.

' _I should take this chance to leave, I can't let him see-_ ' Her thoughts were interrupted when she suddenly saw something small in the corner of her eye, staring up at her. She let out a quiet gasp when her eyes met a little boy's. The boy looked almost exactly like Hiroto when he was his age and he was looking up at her like she was some sort of angel. ' _This isn't good._ ' Yui laughed nervously inside her head. She didn't say anything to the boy, instead she just smiled down at him before she walked past him and went deeper into the woods.

She stopped once she reached an area where there were hardly any trees, believing she was safe and took a deep breath to calm her nerves. ' _He saw me… Oh well, as long as-_ ' Once again her thoughts were interrupted, this time because she felt someone grab her white dress from behind and she turned around slowly. There stood the boy again, Hiroto's little brother no doubt. ' _So he followed me, huh?_ _Now what?_ '

The kid let go of her dress, still staring up at her. "Pretty." He said in a very cute voice.

"Oh, um… Thank you." Yui smiled sweetly at him. "You should go find your brother before he gets worried about you." The boy didn't seem to listen, he was more interested in the beautiful lady in the white dress to even think about looking for his older brother.

" _Koji!_ " The sound of Hiroto's voice echoed through the woods.

Before Yui could grab her necklace, the one that could take her home, Hiroto appeared just a little further away from where they were standing. "Koji, there you a-!" He stopped when he saw the woman his little brother was standing in front of.

She held the face of someone he knew, yet didn't.

"You… Who are you?" He asked as he stepped a little closer.

Then his brother spun around and ran over to him. "Big brother! A pretty lady!"

Hiroto didn't look away from Yui for a second, not even when his younger brother stopped right beside him.

Yui didn't say anything, she didn't really know what to say. She hadn't been prepared for this. But realising the boy in front of her obviously recognized her she closed her eyes, smiled and opened them again. "I'm nobody special, just someone who's passing by."

Hiroto wasn't buying it. "No, no, no, I've seen you somewhere before! You… Are you that lady… from my memories?... Or dream?"

Yui stayed quiet.

"I've had dreams about you! I know it's you! It _**has**_ to be you!"

Thinking of how to respond Yui looked down at the ground.

It wasn't until Hiroto turned to leave she found the words she was looking for. "Sorry." Hiroto said and took his brother's hand. "Guess it's not you after all…"

"You've grown so much, Hiroto."

Hiroto stopped in his tracks, his eyes widened and he quickly turned around again. He was met by the smiling face of the woman who had taken care of him and brought him home 10 years ago. And she hadn't changed at all. "You..!"

Before Yui could react, Hiroto was running up to her and threw his arms around her. "I hardly remember anything…" He whispered. "But somehow I just knew I had met you before."

"You don't have to remember anything." Yui said calmly and hugged him back. "Just know this. You were very brave back then and I'm glad I could bring you back to your parents. Seeing how you've grown up and become a fine young man has made me very happy. And, like I told you many years ago, I'll never forget you."

The moment that followed Hiroto found himself hugging nothing but air, realising she was gone his arms dropped but he didn't move from where he was standing.

" _Hiroto, Koji, there you are!_ " His friend called, running towards them.

"Ah, yeah, I found him." Hiroto smiled and turned around. "Let's go home."

* * *

When Yui found herself back in the bedroom she had a smile on her face and her mind was spinning. She had not expected to meet the boy again, she had planned to let him live his life without interference but it seemed fate had other plans. "Eeeeh, done with the kid already?" A voice came from the bed.

"Huh?" Yui uttered as she turned her head and saw Loki lying on the bed with his arms behind his head, smirking at her. "Ah! Um, you, you saw?"

"I did."

"... Wait, how did you know that's where I went?"

"I'm your husband."

"That's not an answer."

"I just got a feeling that's where you went." He answered and sat up on the bed. "It was fun to watch you try to get away. That little kid followed you like a tail."

"I didn't even notice he did." Yui sighed with a smile and walked to the other side of the bed and sat down on it. Loki took this chance to grab her shoulders and pulled her towards his chest. "But you got to talk to him, it made you happy, right?"

Yui smiled and leaned against him. "Yes."

"Great." Loki said and quickly moved to the side, making Yui fall backwards and land on her back. She let out a sound of surprise and soon found herself trapped underneath Loki. "So, what to do with you now?"

Yui's eyes widened, she had forgotten what she had done earlier. "I, I'm… sorry?"

"Hmm, I don't know, Yui." Loki smirked. "You escaped through the portal, trying to make me chase you, I did and now I've caught you. You better be prepared."

Yui started giggling. "Alright, you got me. But you know," Loki's face came closer to hers. "I wasn't kidding when I said you're going to get me pregnant… sooner or later."

"I wouldn't mind." Loki whispered before he covered her lips with his own.

Yui gave in right away and let Loki do what he wanted. ' _He's only joking… right?_ '

* * *

"He wasn't joking…" Yui told herself. Frigg and Eir had just finished examining her.

She was pregnant. That's what they had told her and by the looks of it, they were right. She had asked to see them since she had been feeling sick lately, especially during the mornings.

The door suddenly flew open and in came Loki with an irritated Helga right behind him. "I told you to wait a little longer!" She shouted at him. "Sorry, Yui-sama, he's so… _**slippery**_."

Yui let out a small laugh. "It's alright, Helga-san."

"Well? !" Loki asked, feeling excited.

Eir smiled to herself. "She's with child, congratulations."

"Hard to keep your hands off her, huh?" Frigg joked.

Loki didn't even hear anything after the word "child" and walked straight up to Yui and surprised her by kissing her. "Hmph! ?" Was all that could escape Yui's lips, making the three goddesses in the room giggle. When Loki pulled away he gave her a big hug before he took a step back. "This is great!" He exclaimed.

"He seems happy." Frigg stated.

"And excited out of his mind." Eir added.

' _I get a feeling this was_ _ **not**_ _an accident._ ' Helga thought in amusement.

"How about you, Kitten? You happy?" Loki asked.

"Of course I am, I'm very happy about it but," Yui answered calmly and stepped closer to him. And without warning, reached into his pockets and took out pieces of candy. Loki knew what was about to happen and quickly jumped back as Yui threw a piece at him. It exploded. "I've told you not to kiss me in front of anyone!"

"Haha! Sorry, sorry, I forgot!" Loki laughed as he ran out the door to avoid the flying candy.

"No you didn't!" Yui shouted and ran after him, leaving the others behind.

"I was just so happy I couldn't help myself!"

"I understand that! But my emotions are out of control right now and throwing things at you calms me down!"

Eir walked out of the room and watched them disappear down the hall. "What an odd couple."

"If she's like this now, then I'm glad I'm not Loki when the child is going to be born." Frigg pointed out.

"Haha, yeah, that's going to be scary." Helga agreed.

"Guess we have to keep him away from her when that time comes, or heads are going to roll." Eir said and stepped back into the room.

"Only Loki's, though." Frigg joked.

* * *

"Hello, how are you doing?" Hades asked as he, Balder and Dionysus walked up to Loki who was waiting outside the cottage. The door was open so they guessed he was waiting for Yui to come outside. "Did your wife kick you out?" Dionysus teased.

Loki turned to grin at them. "Nah, she's just taking her time to find something to wear."

"I understand that, she can give birth any day now." Balder pointed out. "I can imagine it's hard for her to find clothes that fit."

Almost 9 months had passed since they found out she was with child and Loki had been doing his best to support her during those months. Human pregnancies last longer than the gods' do, they are much less painful and they don't experience that kind of complications human women do. Sleepless nights, aching backs, morning sicknesses and mood swings are some of the things goddesses don't have any problems with. Thankfully, the gods had known Yui's pregnancy was hard for her so they had made sure she took it easy and didn't allow her to do anything that could complicate things. They were not used to pregnancies being hard so they sometimes had to stop themselves from asking too much of Yui, she was tired enough as it was. Loki had asked her questions about all sorts of things when he had found out just how exhausted she seemed to be. One day she had even started crying because the food he had made for her tasted good. Loki had almost panicked and tried to ask her what was wrong and why she was crying when he got the answer, _"It just tastes so goooood!"_

Loki started snickering. "Yeah, she's pretty big."

In the next moment a candle came flying and hit him in the head.

"Who are you calling big?" Yui asked in a not so amused voice from the doorway. The black dress she was wearing had thin fabric and long, wide sleeves. A seamstress had made it for her just a month earlier and it was one of the few dresses she could actually move around in without feeling restrained.

"Morning honey!" Loki grinned as he rubbed the spot where the candle had hit. "You ready?"

"Yes, I just hope this will help."

"What will help?" Dionysus asked.

Now Yui noticed that three of her friends were there. "Oh, sorry guys. I didn't see you there." She smiled in embarrassment.

"No worries, Kusanagi." Hades smiled. "We heard it's time soon so we came to visit and see how you're doing."

"Things are as good as they can be with a stomach this big." Yui sighed with a tired smile. "I was hoping that a walk could help start things. I'm pretty tired of waiting any longer. Want to join us?"

"Of course, Yui-san, we'd be happy to." Balder answered her.

"Let's go then." Loki said and moved to take her hand so he could support her.

Yui was just about to accept his help when she suddenly froze, something wet was running down her legs.

It didn't take long before the four gods noticed what was happening. "Shit." They all said in unison.

* * *

"Out of the way!" Loki called as he flew with a groaning Yui in his arms through the castle and with Balder, Dionysus and Hades close behind.

Every god and goddess they passed had to jump out of the way to avoid getting hit.

"Find Eir, Frigg and Helga!" Balder told a guard as they flew past him and disappeared through an open door.

* * *

"I didn't expect this." Dionysus said. He and Hades were waiting outside a room and Balder had gone to inform the rest of their friends about what was going on. Now and then they could hear Yui's screams coming from inside the room.

"Yeah, I knew it was only a matter of time but…" Hades agreed, his eyes were closed and he was leaning against the wall beside the door.

"It doesn't sound like she's fine in there either."

"I've heard it's extremely painful for a human woman to give birth. We can only hope Kusanagi is strong enough to handle it."

"She has three experienced women and Loki in there with her. She's in good hands."

" _Uncle!"_ They could hear Apollon call and turned to see him running towards them together with Tsukito and Takeru.

"That was fast." Dionysus commented.

"We came as fast as we could!" Takeru answered just before they reached the two Greek gods.

"How is she?" Tsukito asked.

More screams came from inside the room.

"That should answer your question." Dionysus said.

Apollon looked really worried. "Fairy will be alright, right?"

"She will, Apollon, don't worry. She's stronger than we think." Hades answered him in a calm voice.

It didn't take long before Thor arrived with Sif, followed by Freyr, Freyja and Balder.

"Anything new?" Balder asked.

"No, just more screams." Dionysus explained.

"Poor Yui…" Sif whispered.

"My little flower sounds like she's suffering in there." Freyja commented as Yui's screams continued to echo through the walls.

"I know it's harder for humans but is it really that painful for them?" Freyr asked.

"There's a reason some humans die during childbirth, Freyr..." Balder said. "Some just can't handle that huge amount of pain."

"Hey, hey! Weed is going to be fine!" Takeru shouted.

"I know that. It's just… We almost lost her once, remember? The memory from that time is still fresh." Balder explained with his head low.

"I know how you feel, Balder." Hades said and moved away from the wall he was leaning on and placed a hand on Balder's shoulder. "But we must believe in Kusanagi. She's not going anywhere."

"That's right, that's right!" Apollon exclaimed, trying to sound cheerful. "No one can handle this better than-"

The door suddenly flew open and Loki ran outside and quickly closed it behind him.

 **Silence ~**

"Loki?" Balder uttered.

"What are you doing?" Thor added.

"Hiding." Loki answered nervously but with a hint of amusement in his voice.

"Why? ! Yui needs you with her!" Sif shouted at him.

"Well, she threatened to kill me and that girl can be scary when she's angry!" Loki said in defence.

Dionysus and Freyr let out a small laugh.

" _Loki you coward! Get back in here!"_

"You just made her even more angry." Tsukito informed.

* * *

Several hours passed and still nothing.

"Is it supposed to take this long?" Takeru asked. By now, most of them were sitting on the floor, only Hades and Thor were standing, waiting impatiently for anything to happen.

"For humans, yes." Hades answered.

"Wait, did she just stop screaming?" Freyja asked when she noticed how quiet it was.

But before anyone could say anything the screams started again but this time it wasn't coming from Yui, but from something much smaller.

"Oh my- It's over? !" Sif exclaimed and quickly stood up from the floor.

It took awhile though before the door to the room finally opened and the pink haired Helga stepped outside, a big smile was planted on her face. "She did it, everyone, and she's fine. Do you want to come inside?"

All the gods sighed in relief before they stood up from the floor and followed Helga inside the big room. There they found Loki standing beside the bed Yui was lying in. Soft cries were coming from the small creature in her arms. When Yui's tired eyes met theirs she smiled at them. "You all waited outside all this time?"

"Of course we did, Fairy!" Apollon cried out, but not loud enough to disturb the newborn half god.

"You mean everything to us, of course we were going to be here." Balder smiled back at her and the others nodded in agreement.

"You are so sweet." Yui smiled again. "Do you want to meet her?"

"It's a girl?" Freyja asked in excitement as they stepped closer to the bed to have a better look.

"Well, yes and no." Loki smirked.

They looked up at him in confusion.

Loki moved away from the bed and walked up to Frigg, who was trying to stay hidden behind a smiling Eir. They followed his movements and watched as Frigg carefully handed him something before he walked back to them, smiling proudly.

"Oh. My. Goodness." Dionysus uttered.

"Twins!" Apollon exclaimed in both surprise and excitement.

"This is Taro." Loki said. "And that's his sister, Aiko."

Their friends were looking at them with wide eyes before they started crying out their congratulations and split up to welcome the both half gods to their world. Taro was born with red hair, one brown and one golden eye, small horns on top of his head and human ears. Aiko had red hair as well but both of her eyes were brown, she had no horns but she had pointed ears just like her father.

"They are both beautiful." Hades said while smiling down at Aiko in Yui's arms.

"This sure surprised us!" Freyr pointed out. "Twins, huh?"

"Hehe, yeah." Loki snickered. "That might explain why Kitten was so bi-"

"If you want more kids in the future Loki, I suggest you stop it right there." Yui warned him, smiling innocently with her eyes closed.

The rest started laughing as Loki froze and didn't say another word.

* * *

"See you, Balder!" Loki called before he stepped back inside and closed the door behind him. "There, they finally left." He sighed in relief and walked over to the bed and sat down on it beside Yui, who was holding both of their kids in her arms.

"Give them a break," She giggled. "they were just so excited to meet them they forgot what time it was."

"Yeah, I guess." Loki said and looked down at the small, sleeping figures. "You did good, you know."

"Huh?"

"They came out strong and healthy. You did your best."

"Loki…" She whispered and threw him a smile. "You did good, too. Even though I kind of wanted to kill you for doing this to me." She joked.

Loki let out a laugh. "I understand now why you wanted to do it, though. That looked like it hurt like hell."

"It did." Yui confirmed. "But, it was all worth it."

Loki's eyes met hers and he slowly leaned forward and gave her a kiss.

"We're going to be awesome parents! I'll teach them to pull all sorts of pranks and-"

"Your head is about to roll, dear husband." Yui said and smiled in the same way she had done before.

From now on, Loki would have to learn to think twice before opening his mouth.

 **The End**

 **A/N: That's it everyone! It's done and I'm exhausted xD**

 **Thanks all of you for the wonderful comments you have left me and I hope you're satisfied with the ending! Please leave your last review before you go and Merry Christmas to you all!**


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